The Encumbered
by MummaPaintstheBlues
Summary: Something was happening. It was in the air, and in the way the adults spoke in hushed voices around him, as if he couldn't hear or understand. But as the son of a ninja he was beginning to understand how these things worked. An epic tale of an Original Character in the Naruto Shippuden verse. Romance, Adventure, Chaos. But most importantly, a happy ending for Kakashi.
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the author:** This is the beginning of a completed 300k fic which I wrote a few years ago and never had the courage to publish. The OC is one of my own making, with some elements adapted from Avatar the Last Airbender verse. I will post the rest as I see fit, or if there is any interest in it. Cheers loves.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

Something was happening.

It was in the air, and in the way the adults spoke in hushed voices around him, as if he couldn't hear or understand. Most importantly the proof was in the way his father had less time for the usual things. It bothered him to be sure, as it would any other five year old boy, but as the son of a ninja he was beginning to understand how these things worked.

So _something_ was definitely happening.

It was nothing too out of the ordinary in any case, it would surely pass at some point and it didn't concern him directly, so life went on as usual.

Until the something arrived.

It started when he noticed the house next door was being opened up and prepared for its new inhabitant. As his bedroom wall was directly connected, he was naturally curious. It happened so quickly as well which only added to the intrigue.

Deciding it was finally time to be asking questions he found his father standing on the front veranda facing the adjoining path to the neighbouring house. It wasn't until he reached his towering side that he saw the other person approaching. Her hair was blood red and framed her face, he recognized her vaguely as one of the other jounin of the village.

"This is unexpected, lady Kushina."

She greeted them with a warm smile and a shy wave.

"Yes, sorry about that. The other arrangements fell through so it looks like plan B for now…"

Their voices continued in that boring conversational tone but didn't offer any information he could understand or salvage at this point. That was when he saw the girl at Kushina's side, holding her hand and looking glumly at the ground. She had to be the same age as him, or a fraction younger, he noticed that much at least. And how her hair looked like spun gold down to her shoulders.

"Is this the girl then?"

She looked up slowly from the ground and he got a good view of her face, with dark blue eyes and a sad expression.

"Yes, this is Asuna, your new neighbour." Asuna looked up to Kushina and held onto her tighter. "She doesn't make much noise this one so I'm sure she'll be no trouble. I'll be keeping an eye on her from time to time as well."

Kushina looked down at her with a warm smile that seemed to relax the young girl.

If he hadn't watched his father's lips moving as he bent ever so slightly to speak at the girls level he would not have realized that the words were his.

"Hello there, Asuna was it? I'm Sakumo, I've heard all about you and I'll be right next door if you get into any trouble so don't fret. This here is Kakashi, my son, you two are about the same age. Say hello, Kakashi."

"Uh, hi."

The response was feeble at best, but he hadn't expected his father to call him out directly.

"Hello."

It was quiet, but he heard it. And then she smiled at him. This time he noticed purely because it completely changed her entire face. It beguiled him. That was when he found himself smiling back.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

The afternoon light illuminated the hospital room he now found himself in.

Unable to move. It was as if his mind was now punishing him for the damage his body had sustained, with dreams of the past so vivid it took him a little while to actually register where he was. To be fair at least it wasn't a terrible memory, and he had his fair share of those.

Kakashi had to admit that any chance of seeing her face again was agreeable. Even in dreams. Whatever brought on the sudden recollection escaped him. It might have been the distant laughter of children he could hear, or the cat he'd seen stalking the window sill that had reminded him of that day. If he'd had the strength to sit up a bit and look out at the world he would have. Instead he lay there watching the clouds as they crossed the sky. Bored out of his mind.

The part of his brain telling him to relish the rest while he could needed to be kept busy, at least a little. If only to keep the memories at bay. Usually reading something did the trick, it didn't even matter what it was, it was only to keep his mind preoccupied. Most of the time that was the only reason he had a book in hand if he wasn't on a mission.

It was just a pity he had nothing with him, but it wasn't as if his arms could move anyway. Even the thought of holding a book was beyond him. Sighing he closed his eyes again. No need to rush, he supposed. He'd be back into it soon enough.

"Don't you look all cozy, huh?"

"Master Jiraiya..."

Making a feeble and painful attempt to move, he was quickly stopped by the Sannin's strong hands.

"You just stay where you are young man, it doesn't look like you'll be going anywhere for awhile. I heard you'd overdone it this time, by the looks of things you'll be holed up in here for a week. I've brought you...uh... a little reading to pass the time, you've probably already got it, but this one is the deluxe edition at least."

Kakashi glimpsed the literature that was placed next to him with a little relief.

"Uh, thanks. You didn't just come here just to give me a 'get well' present though, right?"

Deciding he would rather be sitting up, ]to not appear completely useless to his visitor, the Sannin helped prop him up.

"Well, not exactly. Let's wait for Tsunade to get here with her man before I fill you in on the details."

"Her man?"

"You'll know him when you see him. Actually there is one thing I wanted to discuss with you, before the others got here."

The way in which he emphasised the word 'before' had Kakashi guessing a little, though it was probably something to do with the older gentleman's 'research'. Kakashi was agreeable for any distractions at this point.

"During my last mission I found myself in the unstable villages that line the border to the Land of Lightning, I'm sure you're aware of the chaos outside the village…"  
Kakashi nodded, if only a fraction so it didn't actually hurt him.

"While I was there I came across a village that had been completely decimated. On my first approach I was sure that there would be no survivors. And yet…" Not knowing what to expect Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "And yet, there was not one casualty. Once I was determined not to be an enemy the villagers showed themselves. Without a single scratch on any of them."

"But how could that be? You said it yourself the village was destroyed. I knew it was getting bad out there but I never imagined…"

Jiraiya folded his arms, leaning against the window sill and staring at no point in particular.

"It took a while, but when the villagers trusted me enough they told me that a great battle had taken place. A fight to the death between two people that prevented certain death for everyone, the village itself appeared to be just collateral damage of the fight. They claimed it was a small price to pay for the life of every man, woman and child. A sentiment which I have to agree with."

By now Kakashi's interest was piqued. It might have been because he'd been so bored earlier, or the way the story was being told like some dramatic novel, but it was that same enthralling feeling.

"So who was it that fought?"

"Naturally that is what I wanted to know as well, but their protector's identity was unknown. Or, rather, if they did know they weren't saying anything. They wouldn't even tell me what the person looked like. All I managed to figure out was that they had left a summon there to oversee the rebuilding of the village and protect it from looters."

"A summoning? What was it?"

"A tiger." He paused thoughtfully. "A big one."

It was at this point that Jiraiya looked up to gauge Kakashi's reaction, his opened eye widening ever so slightly. The mask hiding part of his face helped disguise any emotion in it, even if he'd learnt to suppress most of it anyway. There were just some things one couldn't prepare for.

As if giving it pause to sink in the Sannin took his time before elaborating any further. When he did he made sure to keep his gaze fixed on Kakashi's face.

"I've only known of one person to be able to call on that kind of summons and actually control it successfully. As she is long gone from this world I'm presuming she passed it onto her student. Am I correct?"

The sullen look on his face probably gave him away before he answered.

"Yes. That's correct."

"Because the summon was still there we can presume that she is alive, but there would be no way she came out of that fight uninjured. Also, the fact that she is above ground has me concerned, if it is indeed her. What I wanted to discuss with you was whether or not you think it possible... "  
"When it comes to her, anything is possible. That I know for sure."

The words came out before he could check them. Jiraiya smirked a little.

"I'm guessing you've had no contact with her in all this time."

"None. The Third Hokage forbade any contact or tracking of her movements incase it compromised her position, as you know. For a time there was even talk she had fallen in battle. This is the first sighting I've heard of her in fifteen years, if you could call it a sighting."

Kakashi trailed off, his thoughts leading him down an unfavourable path. Jiraiya resumed his gaze at the wall before he spoke. Kakashi was glad his face wasn't being studied at this point.

"In any case, if it is her or not, we need to be prepared for the outcome. How she has managed it so far I'm unsure, but I've heard of no movements of the Black Hoshi in some time."

"I've been assuming all this time that no news is good news, as the saying goes." Kakashi hoped his tone of voice was not giving away his current tumultuous thoughts. "But I don't need to tell you the actual chance of her succeeding that mission, alive, was less than ten percent."

It was now the Sannin's turn to look a little taken aback.

"It was really that small a chance?"

Kakashi nodded, suddenly the pain of moving seemed to not bother him as much.

"From my understanding Lord Fourth was the only reason she even had a chance for survival in the first place. Not that she ever said anything to confirm this. I had a feeling he was helping her right up until he died, and then she took it all upon herself."

At the mention of the Fourth Hokage Jiraiya shifted a little.

"Now that I've confirmed her summon, my next course of action is to verify the status of her mission."

"What?"

The older man nodded. The obvious shock that his sudden statement had caused didn't seem to deter him from continuing.

"I'm heading in that direction in any case. This is not an _official_ mission after all, there's a rumour I've caught wind of that has me concerned."

"Rumour?"

"I won't repeat it, just to be extra sure. It will reach your ears soon enough I'd wager. From there I'll be heading straight to what I believe to be the location of one of the Akatsuki leaders. Presuming you're well and able, Kakashi, I imagine it will fall to you…"

Kakashi was grateful that he didn't continue the conversation. Knowing well enough what he meant by it. If she really was injured enough to fail it would mean war.

In himself he was sure she would never fail, but her survival was still uncertain.

The knock at the door disturbed his already disturbing thoughts.

"Come in."

Now came time for the second troubling topic of the day. What to do about Naruto.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note from the author:** I should explain, this is set in Shippuden, after Kakashi is hospitalized for a week following his fight with Deidara.  
Yamato fills in as captain while they meet Kabuto at Tenchi Bridge.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

The days went slowly by. Occasionally, and without his express permission, Kakashi's mind would wander. He attempted to keep himself busy by concocting his own plan of attack regarding Naruto and his training. But it only went so far. Thankfully Tenzo's visit had pulled his concentration right back to the task at hand.

"That's about all of what happened I think."

As Tenzo finished recounting what had transpired between Sasuke and Naruto there was a heavy kind of silence. Kakashi's mind already concentrating on what would happen next. What strategy would follow from here. The worrisome addition of this new member from the foundation, Sai, the fact that Sasuke's strength now seemed to have been gained through abnormal means. It all needed to be taken into account.

"You've got a plan already haven't you senpai?"

"Something like that. It's a bit extreme though, knowing Naruto he'll be eager enough. Whether it works or not will be up to him."

Tenzo raked a hand through his hair.

"I wish I could've done more."

"There's no use worrying about that now, it was just lucky you were there at all. Leave it to me, I'll think of something. I always do."

It was easier said than done. The moment he was alone Kakashi began running over different scenarios which could act in their favour. Something that would appease Naruto as well as make him stronger. The thought alone was wearing him out, enough to lull him into an uneasy sleep.

This time he felt himself in an all too familiar nightmare. One with rain and lightning. And blood. Mercifully it didn't replay as detailed as his previous dream, just some scattered images of a mission he'd tried to block out of his mind. The panic he'd felt chasing after her was still palpable, and then suddenly the dream changed. From chasing after Rin to chasing after Asuna in the pouring rain, the cold had sunk through to his bones.

So close, he'd been so close to reaching her. If he just reached out a little further. When he heard his name he woke with a start. It was a familiar voice but not one from the dream.

"Kakashi sensei, sorry to wake you... Are you... alright? You look a little paler than usual…"

Sakura stood with a nurse at the side of his bed. Her brutal honesty might have bothered him but he was just grateful to be awake.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a dream."

If his voice had been a little shaken he did his best to hide it, it appeared as if Sakura might have picked up on this, but she kept silent. The nurse handed her a chart then left, opening the door to another visitor waiting.

"Hey Kakashi, how are you holding up?"

"Oh, Asuma. Still here, if that's what you mean."

"Sakura, working hard I see."

She nodded with a smile.

"You know it sensei, especially with Kakashi sensei in the hospital so often, making work for us all."

The pair of them laughed a little at his expense, if he'd had the energy he might've attempted to argue about it. Instead he slowly sat himself up and sighed. Sakura rolled her eyes as she approached.

"I'll bring you something to help you sleep sensei, you need rest."

He nodded and mumbled thanks. Sakura left, leaving him a little baffled. The door clicked shut while Asuma leant against the window sill.

"Trouble sleeping huh?"

"Have you ever tried to sleep in a hospital?"

Asuma snorted derisively at the comment.

"You have a point there. They wake you up just to give you sleeping pills I see."

"Something like that."

There was a pause, Kakashi guessed whatever Asuma had wanted to talk about was imminent, so he kept silent. He liked to think he knew his comrade well enough to gauge that at least. When the silence continued he changed his mind. This was either going to be a heavy conversation or he was failing to pick up on social cues.

"You wanted to talk to me about something I take it."

Asuma looked as though he had been pulled out of a daydream.

"Yeah, a couple things actually, if you've got the time."

Kakashi ignored the humour in that statement, all he had was time, sitting here completely useless. Asuma turned his head slightly to look out the window and all the satire about him was lost in an instant.

"I suppose you've heard about the chaos outside of the village."

"A little from Master Jiraiya, not much."

Asuma nodded.

"It's been confirmed the majority of the destruction has been caused by the Akatsuki, heading closer towards the Leaf, but there is another more disturbing rumour going around."

At the mention of the word rumour Kakashi's interest was suddenly keener, remembering what Master Jiraiya had said days earlier. It had been burning a hole in his mind ever since if he were completely honest.

"I thought you might want to hear it from a friend before any other news is verified." Kakashi wasn't aware of holding his breath, though as Asuma spoke it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of him. "The rumour being, that Lord Ozai and the last of the Black Hoshi could be making their final stand as we speak."

His eyes widened, perhaps his mouth even opened a little in surprise. Not given time to ask any urgent questions Asuma continued, the shock at the revelation only growing for Kakashi.

"The only confirmed piece of information we have, is that a few weeks ago they were forced to withdraw to their final stronghold, after an entire village was wiped out."

"I heard about that village." Kakashi finally found his voice, "Not a single person was injured."

"Exactly. I'm positive I know who was behind it. And I'm sure you know as well."

Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment confirming in himself first. It was her alright.

"She was called the 'impossible girl' for a reason."

Asuma smirked at him, but Kakashi was still bewildered. The smirk faded just as quickly.

"That being said the odds are still stacked against her. This might well be her final stand as well."

"I'm aware."

They were the only words he could manage to get out on that subject. Asuma continued.

"And then there's the possibility of her failing the mission entirely. We need to be prepared. WIll you be ready?"

It was a loaded question indeed. This could be the start of the fourth great ninja war, was he ready to go through that again? But he realized Asuma was asking about his immediate strength.

"I'll be out of here in a day or two, if that's what you mean. If I'll be ready is another matter."

His head might have drooped a little, Asuma gave him a discerning look.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not presuming she'll fail, that's not the outcome I want either. But even the Third Hokage doubted if we'd ever see her again, alive anyway." The two of them exchanged sullen expressions in silence. Again it took awhile for Kakashi to recover his thoughts. "I thought I'd grown pretty accomplished at suppressing emotions as a ninja, but even I have to admit, the thought of having to bury her makes my stomach churn."

"Yeah."

The cat that had been on the sill all week long suddenly began rubbing itself up on the glass of the window and purring. Almost as if she was actually listening to them, reminding them. Asuma caught it as well.

"Anything is possible with her, she'll probably walk out of there and then take on the Akatsuki herself."

Kakashi lightened a little at his friends misguided words.

"Yeah, this is Asuna after all."

Perking up, he noticed Sakura coming back in with more visitors in tow. Naruto and another kid he assumed was the new member from the Foundation. Despite the heavy conversation they had just been having, Asuma smiled at them warmly before gesturing to Kakashi. He seemed to be in a strange mood but they would have to discuss why at another time.

"I'll let you get some rest, you're going to need it by the looks of things."

Kakashi almost rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Thanks."

As Asuma left it was the cue for the next troubling conversation of the day. And it had only just started, Kakashi sighed.

"Sakura, come here a sec…" He gestured to her. "Have they been fighting or something? They look a little beaten up… Knowing Naruto…"

"What? Oh no! We've been getting along just dandy, right guys?"

The nervous laughter did little to improve his mood.

"Kakashi sensei on our last mission…"

"It's alright, I already know. Yamato told me everything."

Sleep would not come easily that night, no matter how hard he tried. Stopping short of sedating himself there was no other option than to lie there awake, thinking. If he were cleared for duty in the morning he didn't want his mind to be cloudy from sleeping pills. That being said, it would still be a little foggy from lack of sleep he imagined. And then there was this other business. Something he thought might never happen in his lifetime.

He guessed the reason behind his inability to sleep was simple, he was allowing himself something he hadn't dared to in a long time. Hope. It had always felt like a waste of energy before, like a lot of other feelings he'd had to keep hidden.

Following the strict rules he'd set for himself long ago, Kakashi had made a vow to limit his time thinking and pining over her, to block those feelings entirely unless it was absolutely safe. It was essential. It was self preservation. There was strict timing to adhere to if he wanted to function at his highest.

The sounds of Naruto snoring from the camp he'd set up in the room disturbed his thoughts again. Maybe that was why he couldn't sleep. Unintentionally the snoring had actually served another purpose, forcing his mind to focus back on Naruto. So that's what he decided to do, the plan he had in mind for his special training would be better to concentrate on.

Besides, it would be unwise to let out any of the emotions he'd suppressed for so long. Not without more information, not yet. Maybe not ever. As always he needed to stay one step ahead, even of his own thoughts.

The books that Master Jiraiya had left him didn't last very long but they had sufficed as a diversion for most of that week. With them both finished it was time to get back into things, but by the time the sun started to rise all Kakashi could think about was heading home to get some rest there.

It was severely doubtful that Naruto would let him out of his sight as soon as he'd been given the all clear. Sitting up and leaning against the headboard he managed to get a good look out the window at the rising sun, and the cat curled up on the sill. A conversation he'd had long ago suddenly surfaced itself.

" _If you want to hide all your feelings away that's fine too, I get it. But y'know they are your feelings after all, you're allowed to have them. Let them come and let them go."_

He hadn't quite understood the weight of those words at the time, but now they had a heavier meaning. A reverence that he wished he had appreciated and respected at the time she had said them. Surely hope was not such a bad thing to indulge in for a moment. Even if it was brief.

It was Tsunade herself that interrupted his reverie. Followed closely by Sakura giving disapproving looks toward Naruto's 'camp'. Kakashi hadn't expected them to show up so early, they hadn't even knocked. Something was up.

"Lady Tsunade."

They both exchanged looks he wasn't so sure of. Tsunade handed Sakura a chart and moved closer to examine him.

"Kakashi, I hear you haven't been sleeping so well."

"It's fine really…"

As if on cue Naruto mumbled something loud, and suspicious, in his sleep.

"I see. Apart from that you seem to be fit and ready for duty. You're cleared to leave the hospital today"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with my… baggage, now would it?"

He gestured toward Naruto and shared the same unimpressed impression as the Hokage herself.

"Well yes, there's that too."

"That fool Naruto, he's been camped out here for days waiting for the second you recover."

Kakashi sighed.

"I was kind of hoping to rest at home for a few days, but as I'm out of reading material anyway, may as well get back into it and start his training again."

Tsunade and Sakura smiled.

"That's the spirit I like to hear."

Naruto shouted something unintelligible in his sleep, Sakura clenched a fist and made her way over to him. Kakashi sighed again, this was going to be a long day. Their arguing allowed Tsunade the opportunity to speak without being overheard.

"There's another matter I wish to discuss with you Kakashi. Come by my office when you're able to."

"Is it urgent Lady Tsunade?"

"Oh, not particularly. It can wait another day, but I expect to see you before nightfall. Are we clear?"

"Yes Lady Tsunade."

With that she turned on her heels and left the room, Sakura still yelling at Naruto as she followed her Master out the door. Kakashi sighed, it was definitely going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

The sun was out in full force, only a few clouds peppered the sky, and the newly formed waterfall behind him made for a very relaxing setting. With a book in hand everything was perfect, almost.

The thousand or so Naruto's littering the training field however, shattered that atmosphere of peace. Completely. As dedicated as he appeared, in Kakashi's tired state he had to admit his patience had gone out the window. But amazingly he could already see results. Only Naruto could pull this off. And it was working.

"How's it going there? Are you able to control the Nine Tails chakra easily Tenzo?"

The man currently sitting in the middle of nine wooden pillars looked more than a little put upon and downcast.

"Everything's fine for now. Please don't call me that Kakashi, it's Yamato remember?"

"Oh right. Sorry."

He hadn't forgotten. He called him that purposefully purely for his own amusement. With a kind of fascination he continued to watch Naruto get closer and closer to achieving this first step. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, it could have been a mere hour or two, but then it happened. All at once. A thousand Naruto's chanted in celebration, throwing their torn leaves in the air.

"He actually did it, this training method of yours is really something Kakashi."

"Yeah." He paused to take it all in. "Good work Naruto…"

The jutsu dissolved in a cloud of smoke, leaving the real Naruto standing there with a wide smile. Then he began to crumple as he lost his footing. Book still in hand Kakashi caught Naruto's tired body in time to see Sakura and Sai rush over.

"He'll be ok after some rest." Kakashi tried to reassure the others. "This training method appears to be taking it out of him."

"Oh Naruto…" There was a brief pause in which Sakura almost looked to be close to tears before she spoke again. "Sensei…"

Suddenly he got the feeling they weren't just here to check on Naruto.

"What is it Sakura?"

"Lady Tsunade needs you."

Sakura explained that they had all been summoned, minus Captain Yamato, who seemed to be more than pleased to be taking a break from training. In true Naruto fashion it had only taken a few moments to get back on his feet, and begrudgingly he followed them into the village toward the Hokage's office. Whining all the way.

As they neared the building Sakura walked with an apprehensive feeling she was unable to shake. The way Lady Tsunade had ordered a pause on Naruto's training so quickly after it had only just started had her concerned. Whatever was in the message she had received shortly after Sakura had arrived had visibly shaken her. Which was another reason she approached the office with some trepidation. Anticipating bad news, they entered. Naruto had done nothing but complain the whole way there which only added to Sakura's current mood and frustrations.

Lady Tsunade was standing behind her desk, back facing them, looking out the window as they entered. Shizune in her normal place beside the desk, nodding to Sakura.

"Good, you're here."

Judging by the tone of her Master's voice she was certain now that something was up.

"What gives Granny? We were just really getting into my important training…"

"Cool it Naruto, has something happened Lady Tsunade?" Kakashi sensei always had a way of silencing him. Tsunade turned slowly and sat down with her arms folded.

"It can't be helped. We just received word from Jiraiya, I have an urgent S rank mission and no other squad qualified enough to handle it."

"S rank? Seriously?" Naruto seemed disgustingly chirpier.

"Don't tell me it's the Akatsuki M'lady?"

There was an air of urgency in her voice now that attracted brief looks from the others. She didn't care anymore that the panic she felt was obvious. That whole business with Lady Chiyo had struck a chord with her that she was unlikely to forget.

"Nothing like that. Although the outcome of this mission could greatly aid our knowledge on that front as well. This mission is to be given the utmost care, you hear me?"

There was a timbre of her voice which Sakura recognized not to argue with, or even make a noise in reply.

"Understood Lady Tsunade, but what exactly is this mission?" Kakashi seemed unfazed as usual.

The Hokage looked to Shizune who nodded and handed Kakashi the file. He opened it and immediately made a kind of noise which she assumed was surprise, Sakura watched his visible eye widen in a kind of foreboding shock that reignited her worry tenfold.

"This is a recovery operation of top priority, until its completion, secrecy is essential…"

"When you say recovery…"

Even Naruto shot Kakashi a stare for his interruption.

"This mission is for the retrieval of Asuna, Avatar of the Leaf, her own mission is complete. It's time to bring her home."

"Avatar...of the Leaf…?" Naruto scratched his head. "Isn't that who the statue by the training field…"

"Yes the very same…"

As she spoke Kakashi placed the folder back onto the desk like it had just poisoned or burnt him. Like it's very contents would hurt him should he hold it for a second longer.

"The top secret mission she accepted over a decade ago came to its end last week. She is alive, but according to Jiraiya she has been wounded, badly. Sakura, you'll need to heal her as soon as you make contact…"

In another act that was out of character, Sakura watched Kakashi turn and walk silently toward the exit.

"Just where do you think you're going? I haven't finished yet!"

He opened the door and paused for a moment before he spoke.

"You want to use her to gather intel on the akatsuki, am I right, Lady Hokage?"

He looked back over his shoulder to Tsunade, but she wouldn't meet his eye. Instead she closed hers and folded her arms tighter.

"If she's willing, yes. Which is why I'm sending you to meet her. I would have spoken to you about this sooner, Kakashi, but I wasn't expecting things to start moving so suddenly."

By now Sakura was exchanging confused looks with Naruto, which rarely happened. Usually it was just the blond idiot that didn't understand something, she didn't like the role reversal. Sai remained completely neutral and impassive as always.

"I've got preparations to see to. We'll leave at dusk."

Kakashi spoke quietly before he left. Tsunade sighed as the door shut behind him.

"Doesn't he even want to know the details of the mission? He barely looked at that file." Sakura mumbled, not expecting a reply.

"There's nothing in that folder that Kakashi Hatake doesn't already know. Which is why he has to be the one to lead this squad. You will need to familiarise yourselves with it as well. Sakura prepare thoroughly. I don't know to what extent she has been injured so anything is possible, the success of this mission rests on your shoulders as the medical ninja."

"Yes, M'Lady."

Sai picked up the folder and began skimming through it, Naruto looking over his shoulder. Seemingly only interested in the picture attached, he gave it a quizzical look.

"So this Avatar of the Leaf or whatever she is, how come I've never seen her before? She's a hero isn't she? I thought she died and that's why the statue…."

Tsunade made an exasperated noise, Shizune took this as her cue to chime in.

"She left on her mission fifteen years ago, it was so top secret only the fourth Hokage knew the details. In all honesty I think we all thought she hadn't survived…"

"That's enough Shizune. Asuna performed a great service to the Leaf and the whole land of fire. In defeating the Black Hoshi Society in the way that she did, not only did she prevent two civil wars, but likely another great shinobi war as well."

Sakura was even impressed at this revelation, though questions were beginning to mount.

"Black Hoshi Society? What's that?"

Shizune and Tsunade exchanged looks but it was Sai that answered.

"If I may, I believe the Black Hoshi Society was a secret organization from the second Hokage's era. One that made the Foundation look like a joke."

"You serious?" Naruto's bewilderment was endless.

Tsunade nodded.

"More or less. The Society once posed a major threat to the Leaf village, and indeed the world at one time. Although it sounds impossible, none of the members had names, nor did any of the leaders. On top of that they were marked with seals that forbade them to discuss Society business. Trying to stop them was like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

Sakura was finally handed the file from Sai, still in disbelief about the whole thing.

"They were really that bad?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Their main goal was to eliminate people with specific types of chakra nature. Or at least that was one of their objectives. Even I don't know the extent of the Society's terrible schemes, they went far and wide. Including the destruction of the Leaf village, the land of fire and every person in it."

"How did this Asuna person manage to wipe them out if they were so hard to find?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she skimmed through the file herself, inadvertently finding the answer to Naruto's question.

"Is this true? Was it really only a five percent chance she'd manage it? Why did she go on the mission in the first place?"

"She left to save us all. As she is the avatar her chakra is very special, and her power exceeds everyone in this room put together. Even so, she became the target of the Society who wanted to use that power. They began arbitrarily attacking the Leaf, so she left in order to protect it, knowing they would follow her. The rest is a complete mystery, until you three bring her back home."

"Would her powers help us with the Akatsuki?" Naruto slowly caught up.

Tsunade looked more than a little frustrated now at the questions.

"Perhaps, if she is willing. She has been waging a war on her own for fifteen years to save us after all. I don't imagine she will want to continue fighting. And also… she has been used poorly by the Foundation, the Anbu even the previous Hokage."

Sakura's mind finally felt less numb and stupefied.

"Is that why Kakashi sensei seemed to bent out of shape about it? It's not like him."

Tsunade lightened a fraction.

"Perhaps, but you'd have to ask him about that. The rest of the information about where you're going is in that file. I expect all of you to read it, you too Naruto. This _is_ an S ranked mission."

Naruto made to gripe about reading the file but stopped and went completely silent. Sakura watched his face change, his eyes wide, and he was only on the first page of the thing.

"I gotta go find Kakashi sensei…"

He half shouted as he sped out the door, leaving the file in mid air almost. Sakura caught it before it fell to the floor, her anger matching that of her Master's.

"What the hell is going on with you men today?!"


	4. Chapter 4

There wasn't enough time to make it perfect, it would just have to do like this. Which bothered Kakashi to no end. His mind was already muddled far more than he could bare and this only added to it. It couldn't be helped.

He gave the place one last look over before he made for the door. His eye resting on the single photo frame fixed to that wall, so covered in dust the picture wasn't even visible.

He knew he'd missed something. Giving it a quick wipe with his sleeve he smiled briefly at his own face looking back at him. It was less faded than his own copy. He shook his head, it wasn't the time for nostalgia and distraction.

Personal feelings aside, there was a mission to be completed here, and this was all part of the mission. Straightening the frame, he stole one last glance at the other person in the photo. Her smile in that picture was genuine, while his had been forced. Though back then she was probably in a lot more pain than he had been.

Closing the door he found the key quickly and locked it. And for the hundredth time since he'd received this mission, truly wondered if it was all actually happening. If it was just a big joke or a genjutsu. As soon as Tsunade had said 'recovery' he'd honestly been expecting to collect what remained of her body, that thought alone made him feel sick.

A noise suddenly startled him from his thoughts. Across the landing, at the other door, stood Naruto. Banging on it in frustration.

"C'mon Kakashi sensei open up! I need to talk to you...huh?"

Naruto heard the keys making sounds in Kakashi's hand and turned.

"Hey Naruto, what's up?"

The blond blinked back at him in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing in there Kakashi sensei, I thought this was your house?"

Kakashi sighed. Right on time...

"This is Asuna's house. As we were neighbors, she left me a key, with the place being locked up for fifteen years I thought I should open it up. Let the dust out before she gets back." Naruto paused and looked oddly at the door Kakashi had just locked. The sun was starting to drop and there was still some things needing taking care of, this needed to be hurried along. "You wanted to speak to me about something?"

Naruto grinned for a second.

"So this was part of the preparations you had to make huh? That's pretty nice of you sensei."

He might have given a little nervous laugh.

"Well, we were comrades after all. There are still some things I need to prepare so if you don't need anything…"

Naruto's smile had faded into a more serious expression.

"About that… I mean you were friends with her right, you were in the Anbu together…" His words faded as if he were seeking approval for his line of questioning.

"You read the file."

Naruto now looked determined.

"I looked at the pictures, but I couldn't read past the first page…"Kakashi had anticipated this conversation. Indeed he'd spent the last hour working out what exactly his reply would be. This was the final preparation, right on schedule. "Asuna Uzumaki. Did I… read it right?"

Kakashi put the keys back in his pocket before nodding slowly.

"Yes. That's right."

"How? Is she really an Uzumaki? Are we related or something? Old man third told me I had no family…"

"I don't know if it's my place or not to tell you these things, but the mission will go more smoothly if you do know." Kakashi paused and considered his words. "I can only tell you what I know to be facts, you'll have to ask Asuna for the rest. But in a word… yes. You're related."

"Seriously?"

"Yup. I don't know the exact connection. Probably like cousins, though she always called herself your aunt."

Naruto's eyes were wide and eager.

"Wait, she knows about me?"

"Of course. Who do you think taught you how to crawl and walk? Babies don't just take care of themselves you know." Kakashi looked down to his feet as if all the answers Naruto wanted were down there. "She even fought with the Third Hokage over you. I've know her almost my whole life and it's the only time I've ever seen her beg for anything. But she was about the same age you are now when that happened, Lord Third deemed her too young. And just as well or the Hoshi might have even marked you too."

"So she left the village, and me, to save everyone…"

Kakashi closed his visible eye, not quite wanting Naruto to see through him in the way that he usually did. Just like Asuna used to.

"She did. She took it all on herself, not telling a single person." Kakashi opened his eye to watch Naruto's reaction. He couldn't fathom the look on the young man's face. "Just try not to rush to judgement until we've met with Asuna. None of this is her fault, though I can see why you'd be angry about it…"

"Of course it's not her fault." Naruto's quick answer and lack of hesitation surprised Kakashi as it always had. "I'm not angry at her, I just wish I could remember her y'know. It makes me kinda happy to know she fought for me, looked after me… but… I don't get it…" Kakashi watched Naruto's face shift from a smiling calm to something darker.

"These Black Hoshi bastards or whatever they are, why did she take them on all alone? She's been on her own this whole time fighting, why didn't someone help her? Why didn't you help her Kakashi sensei? You were friends right..."

This was not exactly what he'd been expecting, but with Naruto you could never tell what would happen.

"I tried. Believe me Naruto, I did. I even did my best to go after her…"

Kakashi's voice failed him. Naruto's anger dissipated and there was silence.

"I think, I kinda remember something about her. But I'm not sure... Maybe I'll know when I see her face to face."

Naruto's voice wasn't the usual loud and happy tone, it was quiet and serious.

"Yeah, maybe you will. We should probably get moving then."

"Wasn't there something else you had to do first Kakashi sensei?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter now. I'm sure it's taken care of already."

The walk to the front gates felt like an eternity. Especially with Naruto, and now Sakura and Sai, asking incessant questions. He did his best not to answer them unless absolutely necessary.

"So what's an avatar anyway?"

"Ugh, Naruto if you hadn't run off like a big idiot you'd have heard Lady Tsunade explain it. What were you two up to anyway?"

Walking ahead of them a little Kakashi couldn't exactly see his face, but decided answering for Naruto would be best.

"Oh, nothing much. Just preparing for the mission, right Naruto?"

"Yeah, yeah. Will someone tell me what an avatar is already?"

Sighing and scratching his head Kakashi was thankful that Sai replied first. For some reason he had no patience left in him for the moment. His mind was scattered and needed something tangible to focus on, the sooner they got moving out of the village the better.

"The avatar is the culmination of the five changes of chakra nature. Essentially like one person holding the chakra of five people, one from each nation."

"Seriously? That sounds pretty powerful. How come I've never heard of one before?"

Sakura raised a fist to make contact with Naruto's head.

"Because you never listen blockhead! There's only ever one avatar living at a time, when one dies another one is born. It's called the cycle of light. Idiot."

"Ow…"

"Powerful is an understatement." The words came out of Kakashi's mouth before he could check them. When the others fell silent he assumed he would have to continue the clarification. "A bit like the tailed beasts, each nation gets an avatar once a cycle, and no one really know why it works that way. So after the Leaf village, one is born into the Sand village and so on. It's supposed to balance power between them, the avatar has been used for centuries as a tool for peace, even before ninja existed. Or is meant to anyway."

He trailed off, satisfied in his explanation. It was probably best he stopped speaking on that particular subject in any case. The conversation continued without him. Sai hitting the nail on the head.

"Basically the avatar is a relic from the era before shinobi even existed. They were born to protect the people before they learned how to protect themselves. At least that's what I've read anyway."

"Oh, so we don't need an avatar anymore then?"

Sakura sighed loudly before answering.

"Not quite Naruto, even Lady Tsunade said there will always be need of the avatar. Just look at how many wars Asuna was able to prevent on her own. Besides, her chakra isn't exactly _normal_ chakra."

Kakashi bit his tongue. Finally reaching the entrance to the village where the Hokage herself was waiting for them, Shizune and Yamato beside her. She spoke as they approached.

"All right Team Kakashi, I trust you are all prepared and familiar with the particulars." They all nodded. "Good. Now get moving, if you keep up the pace you'll reach the border by noon tomorrow. I doubt she'll be moving very quickly so I imagine you will run into her well before Tenchi Bridge."

"Does she know we're meeting her Lady Tsunade?"

"Yes, she's aware that a medical ninja that can be trusted will be escorting her back to the village."

"You managed to make contact with her then?"

Tsunade looked unimpressed at Kakashi's direct question.

"If you hadn't run out so quickly Kakashi you would have been there when we received her reply. In any case the plans have changed a little to account for the intel we've just received. You will rendezvous with Guy's squad, who are incoming from another mission, before returning. They will provide back up on your journey home. I've instructed them to meet you before the bath house close to the bridge."

"Yes ma'am."

Lady Tsunade gestured to Kakashi to move closer so she could tell him something in confidence. The other three weren't bothered, they continued to quarrel amongst themselves in the usual fashion. This was going to be a tiresome trip.

"Yamato will be tagging along as well, for Naruto's sake." Beside Tsunade, Yamato nodded to Kakashi. "Avoid confrontation at all costs. And also…."

Tsunade looked uncomfortable for a second as though she wasn't quite impressed at the words she was about to say.

"The matter I wished to discuss with you, was indeed Asuna's possible return to the village. I wanted to warn and prepare you for it, but this all happened faster than I anticipated. I know you must be in shock, but you're one of the few she trusts. So it has to be you."

"I understand, my personal feelings won't interfere with the mission. But, do you expect a confrontation?"

"Perhaps. We've done all we can to prevent the Akatsuki from knowing anything about her return. But there is a risk they will want her, as well as Naruto."

"I feel almost sorry for the poor bastard that tries to take her down…"

Kakashi caught Yamato's snide comment and smirked beneath his mask. A fleeting memory of Asuna beating Tenzo to a veritable pulp crossing his mind.

"But she is wounded, though she dismissed her injuries as minor, we both know that means nothing when it comes to Asuna."

Kakashi nodded to Tsunade.

"Alright team, we better get moving."

The others beamed before making any movements. Tsunade held out a piece of paper before Kakashi could leave.

"What's this?"

Tsunade smiled as she watched him unfold it.

"You tell me. Asuna's original message to us was as brief as possible to stop any information leaking out. This was on the other side of it. I'm not certain, I assume it's a code, she wouldn't put anything there unnecessarily. I figured if anyone could work it out it would be you, take it with you and…"

"No need, Lady Tsunade." She looked to him in surprise. "I know exactly what it means."

He could hardly believe it with his own eyes, but there was no mistaking it. It was her handwriting, he'd recognize it anywhere. She'd made no attempt to disguise it, and the message itself… it could only be meant for him. Any misgivings he'd had about this all being a dream disappeared. It was real alright. The proof was this note, now resting safely in his pocket.

"We'll be heading out now."

Shizune appeared a little taken aback but he did his best to ignore it and continued walking.

"Wait a minute, what does the message mean….huh, Lady Tsunade?"

The Hokage silenced Shizune by holding up a palm.

"Leave it Shizune. I have a feeling that it was a message for him alone anyway."

Yamato scratched his head before he bowed slightly to Tsunade.

"Kakashi, wait up!"

The sun now completely set, they were making good time, though it wasn't strictly necessary for them to hurry at all. Even at a leisurely pace they would reach the destination in time. Not accounting for any incidents along the road of course.

Walking beside Naruto and Captain Yamato, Sakura watched the back of her sensei ahead of them, who was answering Sai's questions about something. It was a good opportunity for her…

"Naruto…"

"Yeah, Sakura?"

"You didn't read the whole file about this mission, did you?"

He shook his head, no.

"To be honest, I didn't make it past the first page, why? What's up?"

There was a serious tone he used that she recognized. Something was up there too.

"Just a hunch, but I have a feeling that a lot of information was left out of that report. Am I right Captain Yamato?"

She glanced at him in time to catch the way he shifted his eyes to Kakashi's back.

"Keep in mind Sakura, she was part of the Anbu for some time. A lot of that information has to remain classified."

"What information are you talking about Sakura?"

Her eyes narrowed a fraction.

"I thought it strange that Kakashi sensei seemed so out of sorts when we got this mission, so I tried to look into this Asuna a little more… but there was nothing to be found. No parents or siblings, not even date of birth. And I didn't have enough time to look into anything else."

Yamato looked a little downcast and chose his words carefully.

"That information you'd never find, because, well. Simply put, no one knows."

"What?"

Sakura did her best to mask her surprise.

"Asuna is an orphan, the sole survivor of the massacre of an entire village. They found her in the wilderness when she was very young, no one even knows how long she was out there for. Then she was brought to the Leaf."

"Are you serious Captain Yamato? Did you... know her or something?"

Naruto's eagerness for information had Sakura a little puzzled.

"I'm serious, though I can't say I really knew her all that well. I worked under her and Kakashi for a brief time."

There was silence as Sai dropped back to say something obscure to Naruto, who wasn't listening so much at this point thankfully. It seemed Kakashi was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to indulge any of them today, he also had a book in hand. A subtle hint not to bother him unless necessary.

"What are you all talking about? The looks on your faces are very serious."

Sakura also ignored Sai.

"Is it true she was just ten years old when she joined the Anbu?"

"Yes, the youngest in its history."

Sai seemed to have clicked on what they were speaking of.

"Asuna is legendary, even in the Foundation. Both her and Kakashi sensei were even called the 'impossible squad' at one point."

They all suddenly looked at Sai. Yamato responded quickly.

"I remember that name, don't say it too loudly if you know what's good for you."

"Understood." Sai nodded and continued walking silently and impassively.

"Is that why Kakashi sensei is acting all weird? Were they that good as a squad?"

Yamato smiled a little at Naruto's questions.

"The best. In the Anbu we called them the Yin and Yang. You'll see soon enough, he's a completely different shinobi around her. They grew up together so I presume they trained with each other when they were young."

"That's right, she lived next door to Kakashi sensei."

"Really? How do you know that Naruto?"

"Oh, nevermind, it's…"

They were all silenced as Kakashi called back to them in the darkness.

"Hey, what are you lot up to back there? Keep moving, there's a campsite near here we'll use for the night…"

The others sat around the small campfire while Kakashi seated himself against the trunk of a tree just outside of their circle. One by one they nodded off, not that he was paying much attention to that, one of the usual books on his lap. Though he couldn't say he was paying much attention on that front either.

Not believing that sleep would be forthcoming no matter how much he might try, Kakashi had offered to take the first watch. Unusually enough for him, as cluttered as his mind had been, he wasn't entirely worried about any sort of ambush. His senses were telling him they were safe for the time being, he remained semi-alert nonetheless.

"You've been on that same page for a while now, something on your mind?"

"Oh, this and that."

The others all asleep, Yamato had chosen his moment to approach carefully. Casually peering over the brim of Kakashi's volume of Makeout Tactics.

"Though you don't appear to be reading that book at all…"

He snapped the book shut, admitting defeat and glaring a little at Yamato. When his comrade sat himself against the tree nearest to him, Kakashi didn't move.

"That message you've been staring at all evening, she left it for you, I presume?"

Reluctant to answer Kakashi decided there was no point in concealing the truth from his comrade.

"Yeah, that's about the half of it."

"Tsunade had it right then. You know what it says?" Kakashi nodded slowly. "You're not going to tell me though are you?"

Watching the flickering fire he considered his answer. Whatever response he chose would give away more information that he liked. But he knew that he could trust Yamato at least.

"Here." Kakashi held the small piece of paper out for Yamato to take. "Tell me what do you think it says?"

He watched his comrade blink at the message in concentration after holding it closer to the light of the fire.

"It looks like the characters for 'hit' written twice… but there has to be more to it than that surely."

"Nope that's it."

Yamato handed it back to him with a slightly pained expression.

"You're going to have to go into more detail than that Kakashi…"

He would have been exasperated by the whole thing but literally no one else on earth could have understood the meaning behind it.

"I guess I'll have to, even if I don't feel entirely comfortable in telling you this…" Kakashi tucked the paper back inside his book, next to the faded picture he sometimes used as a bookmark. Yamato's eyes widened a fraction as he caught a glimpse of it. "I take it you remember Asuna, I mean I doubt you'd forget after the beating she gave you…"

"Yeah, yeah, enough about that. I remember her well enough."

"Asuna never said a lot. Even when we were kids. Her room was right next to mine and I never heard her make a sound, except…" He paused. "Well, as we both came to be on our own, we invented a way to check on each other without actually having to talk. Neither of us being big talkers as it were..."

Kakashi wasn't entirely sure if Yamato knew the details about his father. In any case he didn't want to go into that right now.

"Seriously?"

"Yup, seriously. Her being next door, I felt obliged to make sure she was still alive. Took awhile for me to realise she was actually the one looking out for me…"

"That sounds like her."

They both looked a little downcast.

"Yeah."

"So what do the characters actually mean?"

"Oh, right. Got off track there for a second. We came up with a code. Each number of knocks, or hits, on the wall meant something different. It's not too complicated, but only she could have known about it. We stopped as we got older so it took me a few seconds to remember exactly what it meant by two knocks, but I believe it served another purpose..."

Yamato smiled in an odd way.

"What do you mean?"

Kakashi paused again as if saying it out loud would make it untrue.

"I think she knew that I would be skeptical about her return. And I have to admit since Lady Tsunade gave us this mission it's been difficult to swallow."

"You didn't think she'd return? Or you doubt that it's actually her?"

"There's that. But from the intel I learned from Master Jiraiya I honestly expected to be recovering a dead body. She was letting me know it's really her. Alive."

Kakashi didn't add his real thoughts to the conversation, that in order to keep moving forward each day he'd had to make considerable effort to block her from his mind. Only remembering her in his darkest and quietest moments of weakness.

Yamato sighed.

"Well that's encouraging. I wonder how badly she's wounded though."

Kakashi stood and stretched.

"Yeah, she's still on the move, so that's positive."

When he went to move to sit higher up the tree as lookout Yamato called up to him.

"So what does two knocks mean?"

Kakashi looked back at him over his shoulder and smiled a little.

"Get some rest, we'll need to move fast and far in a few hours."

There was a scoffing sound.

"I knew you wouldn't tell me…"

Kakashi ignored the remark.

Perhaps he'd dozed off for a moment, or maybe it was just his mind confirming what he already knew. But the memory of that time had come to the forefront of his mind. Replaying with exact detail.

" _What's going on in here?"_

 _His face peering through the window._

" _Sorry about that. Just moving the furniture. And y'know Kakashi, you should really knock before just casually dropping into a girl's room?"_

 _The scarf had hidden his blush._

" _Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I'll knock next time."_

" _Knock twice just so I know. And if you hear me knock back then you can come over."_

" _Alright. And if I hear a heap of banging again I'll assume you're either moving furniture or being attacked."_

Just like that the code had started. One knock had been either, 'ok' or asking if the other person was there. Sometimes it was 'good morning' or 'good night'. For about a year it had been the only communication he'd voluntarily made with anyone. They had gone so far as to not actually speak to each other for months at a time, but checked in every single day. When they were home at least.

Three knocks was 'I'm heading out' either on a mission or somewhere else. Four knocks was 'mission successful' but had other meanings as well. He was struggling to remember them all. For a time four knocks was also a warning that Guy was trying to find Kakashi, so he had enough time to hide.

He definitely remembered five knocks. Five meant 'I'm in trouble' and in the ten years they lived so close to each other it had only ever been used the once.

Two knocks though, she'd written two knocks. Sometimes they didn't wait for an answer to a double knock, knowing that the answer was always going to be 'ok'. They'd never worked out a knock for 'no' afterall and Kakashi had only realised that long after they'd grown up. Two knocks meant one thing. I'm coming over.

She'd only ever asked for warning that he would pop in, and she had never turned him away. He felt like an idiot all over again, wishing he'd figured it out sooner. The time went a little quicker than he expected, indulging in nostalgia had a funny way of doing that. When he'd seen that message he had finally allowed himself to give in to it, the hope that she was actually coming home. He began to wonder what she looked like now, if she was still the same quiet mastermind that she used to be. Then he began to wonder what she would think of him.

Kakashi made the decision that he had indulged long enough in the past. It was never a good idea to begin with. They needed to get moving too.

"Aren't you tired Kakashi sensei?"

He'd not even noticed Naruto jump up on the tree next to him.

"I'm fine. You ready to go then? We should probably move before the sun starts rising."

Naruto nodded.

"Yup, all ready. I couldn't sleep much anyway. But you just got out of the hospital sensei, I thought you'd be exhausted by now."

"I'm not so decrepit Naruto, really I'm just fine. And why weren't you sleeping may I ask?"

Naruto looked back down to the others still resting.

"I was trying… to remember something about her. But I don't know if it's a memory or just a dream." Kakashi knew better than to ask the details. "Oh yeah, speaking of, I wanted to ask you something Kakashi sensei."

"Sure go ahead."

"Aunty Asuna is the elements master right? Do you think she could help with my training and the wind style chakra?"

It was another question he hadn't expected.

"If anyone can, it's her. But you'll have to ask nicely of course."

The mask hid the growing smile on his face.

"Come on, let's get the others."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

They left the campsite at full speed, managing to reach the main road that they would be taking just as the sun began to rise.

"Alright everyone, be on high alert from here on out. I doubt the Akatsuki will be taking the main road, but it also wouldn't surprise me if we were ambushed. On top of that, we don't know how fast Asuna is travelling with her injuries so we may need to go further and faster than we had originally planned."

Yamato spoke up as well.

"We'll also need to keep a lookout for Guy's incoming squad, it's likely we will run into them mid morning, so we have another four hours to reach that destination. Then, assuming Asuna is travelling at a normal pace, it'll probably be another four hours to reach her."

"Sakura, your orders are to examine her as soon as possible, so you'll need to conserve as much of your own chakra as you can. The whole reason we're on this mission is to get her back to the village safely." Kakashi added.

"Got it."

"Right, let's keep going."

Because they weren't exactly travelling at breakneck speed, it allowed Kakashi's mind to wander in various directions, none of which were ideal. It didn't help that the road they were taking had nothing remarkable about it to keep his attention for very long. Surprisingly there was nothing sinister or troubling approaching them as far as he could tell either.

But looks could be deceiving. Now wasn't the time to lose focus in any case.

Still, he couldn't help but imagine what Guy was going to make of this mission, he was almost shuddering at the mere thought alone. If he was honest he'd nearly forgotten about the rendezvous with their squad before Yamato had mentioned it. Two hours later and he was still trying to suppress the recollections of Guy chasing after him and Asuna, and the memory of that night she'd left.

If Guy hadn't found him when he did that night… he'd been strict about dwelling on that moment in particular. But now it seemed impossible to stop.

It might have been dumb luck alone that allowed them to travel safely while his mind was so unclear. In part he attributed it to the success of her mission. It was all in stark contrast to the last time he'd seen her at least, chasing after her in the pouring rain, attacks flying all around. Now it was if they were on some leisurely stroll to see an old friend who just needed help getting home. Sun shining down, no clouds in the sky.

"You doing alright there Kakashi?" Yamato had sped up a little to fall into stride alongside him.

"I'm fine, don't concern yourself with me when we've got a mission to complete." There was silence, Kakashi looked over to see Yamato glaring at him in a way as if to let him know that answer was not good enough. Kakashi looked away. "Really. It's fine. Just having trouble trying to focus."

"Something on your mind then?"

With a quick glance back to the other three he decided to air his concerns with Tenzou.

"Don't you find this a little… too peaceful? There is meant to be chaos going on at the borders and yet the closer we get, the more tranquil it becomes… Something's up, and I don't like it."

Yamato appeared to be mulling over Kakashi's words.

"Now that you mention it, thing's are a little quiet, especially for this squad in particular. What do you think's going on?"

"I'm not sure, it could be one of two things by my guess. Either she really has destroyed the Hoshi and it's just luck that we haven't run into anything else. Or…"

"Or?"

"Or, this is a trap and we're walking right into it."

Yamato fell silent and Kakashi slowed right down gesturing to the others to stop as well.

"Why are we stopping sensei? Don't we have a little further to go yet?"

"Yeah, something feels a bit off. Sai do you think you could…."

He already had a scroll in hand.

"On it."

Sai created a handful of birds and sent them off in various directions.

"What do you want to do now Kakashi?" Yamato folded his arms.

"Well, for now we keep moving. It might be a good idea to avoid the main road as well, I want you all on your toes. If we hang around too much we'll miss the rendezvous but rushing in without thinking would be dangerous."

He seemed to finally be thinking clearly, it was about time too. If everything went well there would be plenty of time for reminiscing later.

"Now that you mention it, it's a little… quiet. You think something's going on here sensei?"

"I'm not certain, Sakura. But we need to be prepared. This mission is S ranked for a reason."

"Right. Got it."

They all nodded before they started moving again, this time taking an overgrown trail about a kilometer from the main road. It was a small detour but it was the smarter choice.

"Pick up the pace you lot, this detour has set us back, and we don't know what's up ahead."

As he spoke the others were already starting to move faster. They would still have plenty of time so long as they kept going forward. Even as the thought occurred there was something in the air that made him more certain that trouble lay just around the corner.

Keen as always, his sense of smell was picking up on something, ash and smoke. The remnants of a battle no doubt about it. It was close too.

"Something's coming…"

The others looked in minor panic to each other but there was no time to discuss it. The trail they were following abruptly ended, a clear line of destruction that opened up to what was probably the remnants of a small village.

Now piles of ash and rubble, whatever was there had been levelled. Kakashi put an arm up to stop the others behind him, they retreated behind some bush to get a better look at the situation without walking out into the open, or into a potential fight.

"What the hell happened here?"

Yamato put a hand to the ground and rubbed the dirt between his fingers. He answered Naruto with a look before he actually spoke.

"Whatever happened, it was some time ago, from memory there used to be a village here. What do you think Kakashi?" 

He didn't speak. Instead he adjusted his headband and allowed his sharingan to examine the scene, meaning they could remain hidden for the time being.

"I think you're right, this damage is weeks old. I'm not detecting any people here either, no bodies or casualties."

"I find that hard to believe looking at the debris. But if it's been a week or two perhaps the dead have already been collected and buried." As Sai spoke two of his birds returned to him, he made a small noise in surprise. "There is something here, two hundred meters south east, approaching slowly."

It was too late, Kakashi could already see what it was, his breath caught in his throat.

"Is that… an animal?"

"It's a tiger."

For a fleeting second they all looked to Kakashi as he answered before turning their eyes back to the approaching beast.

"How do you…"

"It's a summoning. And not one who takes lightly to strangers, you all wait here, I'll go talk to it."

"Kakashi you know that beast?" Yamato looked more panicked than he'd seen in a while.

"Yeah. And I think I know what might have happened here too. Hang back until I give the signal."

Without uttering another word, despite the obvious questions posed by the others, Kakashi stepped out into the clearing. Seeing the damage even just this little bit closer made him realize that it was exactly as Master Jiraiya had said. The village had been completely decimated in this fight, it really looked as though no one should have survived it. And yet, this had to be the place. The proof was walking toward him.

Remembering the first time he crossed one of Asuna's big cats he bowed his head ever so slightly.

"I thought I could smell dog, but I never expected to see your ugly mug, Kakashi."

"A pleasure as always Lord Kyros. I must say, it took a moment for me to recognize you."  
The great cat, blood orange with a golden chain around it's neck, began circling him closely. "I'll tell you now I have others with me."

"You think I'm an idiot hm? I'm making sure it's really you before I let you call them over. We've had to be careful for many years now, just because the fight appears to be over doesn't mean that stops. But I'm satisfied it's you alright. They can come out now."

Kakashi gestured to the others who appeared behind him in a flash.

"What's going on here?"

Naruto gave the big cat a dirty look, which it returned in kind.

"Manners now Naruto, this is Lord Kyros, one of Asuna's summons. I'd heard a rumour from Master Jiraiya that you were here protecting the villagers here, am I right?"

Kyros was now eyeing Naruto up cautiously, but still answered.

"That's right. Originally she asked me to oversee the rebuilding of the town, I don't know what happened exactly but I received word from her afterward that it would be safer to evacuate all the townspeople to another location. If you'd stuck to the main road you would have run into them."

"Probably after Jiraiya found her and told her about the Akatsuki she changed her mind…"

Kyros then eyed Kakashi in that same way, like he was a piece of meat.

"You seem to know a lot about what's going on. Even more than I do."

"Yeah, we're actually on a mission to bring Asuna back to the village now."

Kyros's eyes widened.

"You don't say. I was waiting for her to return here before I went back home myself, but if that's the case I'll entrust her to you Kakashi… and this other Uzumaki brat."

Naruto made some noise in protest but Kakashi simply bowed his head a little again.

"Thank you, though I wasn't expecting you to trust us so easily."

Seeing the great tiger smile was a sight he wasn't all too familiar with. It wasn't something he would likely get used to either. It was more disturbing than he would care to admit.

"Only you dog boy, and only because she does. I'll be on my way now…"

"Uh, Lord Kyros, pardon the interruption, are you able to tell us about the extent of Lady Asuna's injuries?"

Kakashi noted that at least Sakura had the brains enough to be polite.

"I like this one Kakashi, but unfortunately, no I do not. She left this battlefield two weeks ago and moved on to the next one. When she left, she was well enough. But I don't need to tell you Kakashi, it's a miracle she survived that final fight. I'm exhausted as it is. You better hurry. I'll be going now."

Kyros nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Real nice guy. Could've given us some more info y'know."

"Don't take it to heart Naruto, the great cat summons don't usually speak to people unless introduced properly. Count yourself lucky he even said anything to us in the first place."

"So what happened here?"

Yamato asked while looking around at the destruction.

"Master Jiraiya came to see me while I was in the hospital and told me about this place. Long story short Asuna fought here and somehow managed to save every single person in that village. It was destroyed in the battle, but not one person had a scratch on them. It seems to have been the penultimate fight for the Hoshi."

Sakura looked a little awestruck at the damage that surrounded them.

"Must have been one hell of a fight. And so close to the village too."

"Yeah. You can say that again. We need to get moving, fast."

There was now an urgency with which they travelled, as soon as they'd resumed their course the pace had quickened considerably. Though after taking a different trail, and then stopping unexpectedly, the timing was going to be tight. Kakashi was starting to regret the stop they'd made in the early hours of that morning, but it couldn't be helped.

The recollections that he had been indulging in during this mission had been pushed back to their rightful place. There was no time.

"At this rate, we're not going to be able to make the rendezvous in time."

Yamato caught up to Kakashi once they neared the area that they were supposed to be meeting Guy and his squad.

"You're right, but we can still make it to the bridge in time to meet Asuna if we keep up this pace and stay on track. I'll send word to Guy and the others."

Pakkun, obliging as always, was summoned and sent directly. His speed was unmatched so that at least gave Kakashi peace of mind.

"I don't get how Lord Kyros knew about Naruto, he called you an Uzumaki brat remember?" Sakura's question broke the momentary peace.

"Oh yeah, that's right, Kakashi sensei…"

"That's enough. If you've got time to chatter you're not moving fast enough. There will be time for explanations later when we're in the clear."

There was no real need for him to be so strict about it, though this was an S ranked mission, he really just didn't want to answer those questions right now. It would only call back images from the past and give too much away. Instead he shifted his concentration to the path ahead, trying to ignore the conversation behind him.

"He's been acting really weird these last couple days…"

"I read in a book once that sometimes men of a certain age go through what they call a 'crisis of life'…"

"Shut up Sai, don't say that kinda crap too loud or you'll get us all in trouble!"

"Yeah, Naruto's right Sai, you just can't say that kind of thing when he can hear you…"

He wasn't paying too much attention, but to be honest he just didn't care. This mission was finally taking his undivided attention, he was chasing after her all over again. This time it would end differently.

Kakashi didn't catch Yamato adding to the conversation.

"Just remember you three, this is a high ranking mission, anything could happen. Also… keep in mind that Asuna's been gone for a long time, a lot of us thought she had perished. Go easy on Kakashi, until we get her home safe we have no idea what might happen. The Hoshi was terrifying in its day…"

They fell silent but Kakashi wasn't listening in any case. This time he wouldn't lose focus again, this time he would definitely bring her home.

" _What do you mean 'she's gone' Guy, what are you talking about?"_

 _The tears streaming down Guy's face were visible even in the night, even with the few drops of rain that were beginning to fall._

" _Didn't you hear me? The village is being attacked! They're after her! Asuna is trying to lead them away from the village on her own, and…"_

" _And what? Don't waste time, Guy!"_

" _And... she said she's not coming back."_

 _Kakashi's visible eye widened in shock. Guy could see that even from where he was standing._

" _I don't know exactly what she meant by it, but this is just a suicide mission by my eyes! She knocked me out so I wouldn't go after her, when I came to I ran straight for you… You know what this all means don't you Kakashi?"_

 _Guy watched Kakashi shaking a little, his eye still wide and unseeing. As if he were stuck in a genjutsu. There was silence, Guy assumed that was a yes answer to his question. The rain started coming down a little heavier._

" _Which way did she go?"_

 _It was now Guy's turn to be shocked._

" _You're serious? You can't be thinking of going after her? That's insane, there's thousands of them in the shadows…"_

" _I don't care how many of them there are."_

 _Kakashi had interrupted him with a voice louder than his usual quiet tone._

" _I'll kill them all if I have to. She can't leave, not yet. Not without knowing…"_

 _He trailed off and Guy finally clicked._

" _She doesn't know? I thought you told her!"_

" _I was... going to, I wanted to get the timing right. That's why I can't let her go, she has to know... all of it."_

 _Kakashi didn't seem so surprised that Guy had figured it out. It was a closely guarded secret to him, but Guy had actually worked that all out even before Kakashi had._

" _You really think she'll stay if she knows how you feel? If she doesn't go the whole village…"_

 _Quicker than he'd expected Kakashi stepped up to Guy and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, gripping him by the collar at his throat._

" _You don't think I know that? Who do you think has been by her side this whole time? I knew this would happen one day. Which is why I have to tell her, I need to give her a reason to keep fighting so she can come home to… to all of us."_

 _Kakashi's initial anger and frustration ebbed away with his words. Guy would've smirked at his rival actually showing a human side for a change, but this whole situation was dire. And if Asuna was gone for good, well, he didn't want his friend to live in the darkness forever._

" _Tell me, which way."_

 _It was an order, not a question, even so Kakashi let go of him. This time Guy really did smirk._

" _Always the same bossy attitude with you. But… Seeing you fired up for a change has me burning as well! I'll come with you, I can't just let my rival get killed now can I?"_

 _Kakashi's expression softened a little._

" _Thanks Guy."_

"Guy, hey, you still with me? Guy?

"Guy sensei?"

Guy stared down at Pakkun in disbelief. The memory had come to him in a flash instantly, and he still couldn't believe what his ears had just heard.

"Yeah, sorry. I just can't believe what I'm hearing. Are you sure Pakkun?"

"Yeah, it was a shock to me as well. Kakashi didn't want anything written down so the information wouldn't be leaked. Just sit tight at that bath house until you see me or Kakashi again, and keep an eye out for her as well. Doubt she'll be travelling that fast but he wanted to make sure. I'll be going then, see ya."

The dog vanished in a puff of smoke leaving Guy standing there still dumbfounded.

Lee looked to Neji and Tenten.

"Did you guys follow any of that?"


	6. Chapter 6

When the trail they were on finally connected back to the main road it was well into the afternoon. He'd been so focussed on their travelling speed, and working out the possible dangers ahead, Kakashi had failed to notice that he had actually exhausted himself.

The others weren't exactly able to hold that pace much longer either. Naruto and his boundless energy being the exception obviously.

"Naruto, slow down, we're taking a short break."

"What are you talking about Captain Yamato? We're gonna miss her if we don't keep going…"

"Actually… we've already reached the place Lady Tsunade marked out on the map. If we keep following this road we'll run into her eventually."

"You think we've made it in time then Kakashi sensei?"

He took a long hard look at the road behind them.

"If we haven't then she'll run into Guy's squad down the line, I've told him to stay put just in case. Now we've managed to make up the time we've lost, but we need to get Sakura to her as soon as possible."

"Right. Let's keep going then."

While Kakashi appreciated the enthusiasm and lack of argument he was beginning to tire. Thankfully Yamato seemed to be on the same page.

"Why don't we drop the pace just a bit, for now. We may need to conserve some energy in case we run into trouble further down the road. Besides, we should probably refuel now while we can."

There was a general agreement amongst them, and they carried on at a more leisurely pace. While Kakashi's body was glad for it, his mind threatened to wander. It was some kind of mixed emotion between nervousness and relief that kept weakening his resolve. Or was it longing, it was a weak word for such a ravenous feeling in any case.

"There's no way we'll be able to get her back to the village tonight at this rate." Yamato's musings caught his attention.

"No, my thoughts exactly. We don't even know what her injuries are. If we can get to her as soon as possible, and then make our way back to Guy's squad, we can stay there for the night. Allowing Sakura to treat her with medical ninjutsu properly and off the road. It's not ideal, the longer we're out of Konoha the more dangerous it is. But this will have to do."

"So we're staying at that bath house tonight sensei? Alright!"

"It's no reason to let your guard down. We still have a job to do, and enemies who could appear at any moment."

As if on cue the rest of Sai's birds from earlier returned to him.

"What is it Sai?"

"About 10 kilometers north, right on the edge of the border, there seems to be a single person taking the main road."

"That could be her right?"

Kakashi nodded in reply to Sakura's question before his mind immediately began working out a timeline.

"Maybe we should pick up the pace again?"

"Do you have anymore information Sai?"

"Sorry no, I instructed my birds to keep their distance in case we alerted the enemy to our location."

Kakashi eyed the road ahead.

"Well that's more information than we had before at least. If it is Asuna we'll probably run into her in the next hour, if it is an enemy we'll have to be cautious. The mission may already have been compromised."

"What do you mean by that Kakashi sensei?"

"You mean the enemy could have already gotten to her, that right?"

Naruto was more perceptive than he expected.

"Yeah, it's a possibility."

"Let's get moving then."

"Right."

Naruto always did have a way of motivating people to keep going further, Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd ever been this grateful for that quality before.

"The Akatsuki operate in two man teams so we can presume it's not them, though it doesn't stop them from hiding the other member in the shadows. In fact it would be a perfect diversion if that is what they're doing." The fact that Sakura had picked up on that as well was another cause for concern, even if Kakashi was a little impressed that her deductive abilities had grown.

"Yeah, in any case we'll have Guy and the others to back us up, so we have the advantage in numbers. Maybe we should pick up the pace again just for a bit, what do you think Kakashi?" Yamato had a point as well.

"Okay, here's the plan, we keep moving. The sooner we get to her the better, so we'll move as before. If my calculations are correct we'll run into the person approaching, whoever they are, in approximately seven kilometers. We'll stop there and wait, rather than rushing in and giving away our position, it'll give us a chance to prepare whatever the scenario may be."

They all agreed. When they started moving again Naruto took the lead position.

"Something's been bothering me sensei, can I... ask you something?"

Not able to see his face Kakashi could tell by the tone of his voice that whatever was bothering him had to be serious.

"Sure."

"Granny Tsunade said that Asuna had been used pretty badly by a bunch of people, and I'm guessing by the way you were acting, you know about that, don't you?"

He didn't know where Naruto was going with this, and he didn't trust his answer. So Kakashi decided to keep it as short as possible, making a muffled kind of grunt in reply.

"I guess what I don't understand is how a hero like her, who saved the village and the whole land of fire, could just leave and wage a war all on her own… Why would people use her when all she ever did was to protect everyone?"

There was silence as he considered his answer.

"She's a lot like you Naruto."

There was a surprised noise and silence between them for a moment.

"Asuna has great power. With that comes great fear. And people who would try to use it to their advantage." He could feel the anger rising in his chest as he continued. "Asuna's just the sort of kind person who thinks of everyone else first. But just remember, she's not only powerful, she's smart. At least... smarter than me. And this was the only way she could see the Hoshi being defeated without mass casualties to innocent people. So we all had to believe in her, even if the chances were slim."

"But didn't you try to stop her Kakashi sensei?"

"Not exactly. I couldn't have stopped her even if I had wanted to…"

Naruto looked back at him as they sped onwards.

"Why did you chase after her then? You said you..."

Even covered as it was, Kakashi's face gave him away before he answered.

"I wasn't trying to stop her. I was trying to save her. To go with her if I could…."

Kakashi wasn't looking at any point in particular as Naruto appeared to see right through him in an instant.

"Don't worry, this time we'll bring her back sensei, you've got me with you after all!"

He grinned before turning away. Kakashi looked at the back of Naruto's head in awe, unsure exactly how the kid was able to understand his feelings so quickly when he wasn't even sure of them himself. Maybe he just wasn't a kid anymore.

"Thanks Naruto."

They continued for a while longer before Kakashi noticed that the others were trailing far behind him and Naruto.

"Uh, Naruto, we better let the others catch up."

"Oh, right."

Yamato was catching his breath, his hands on his knees. Speaking in-between gasps for air.

"Can we… just stop… for a minute?"

Even Sai appeared out of breath.

"Sure, why not. We're close enough now anyway. We have a little time."

They all seemed surprised at his words, but Kakashi had eased a little. Maybe it was because they were closer to reaching her, maybe it really was because he had Naruto with him. If there was a battle ahead this time it would be different.

Just off the main road they collected themselves. Kakashi keeping one eye on the path ahead. His mind finally calm and working with clarity.

"It's too risky to send out more of Sai's birds to identify if it's the enemy approaching. But there is a way to tell if it's Asuna."

The others looked to him in disbelief.

"Seriously, how did you figure…"

"Summoning jutsu!"

Cutting Yamato off mid sentence with the answer, the look on the Captain's face was unimpressed. Kakashi ignored it.

"Sorry to call you back so quickly Pakkun."

"I had a feeling it might happen. What do you need Kakashi?"

"Do you think you can remember Asuna's scent at all?"

There was a pause and the hound appeared to be sniffing the air.

"It's been a while. But I'm sure I can sniff out something."

"There's someone approaching this way which could be her."

Pakkun poked his head through the bushes.

"Yeah. I can smell them alright."

The others jumped back in surprise.

"Well? Is it her?"

Pulling his head back through the bushes Pakkun met them with a look of bemusement.

"Why don't you guys just ask her yourselves?"

Kakashi held his breath and stepped out into the main road.

Kakashi took Pakkun's words to mean that it really was her on the other side of that shrubbery, it hit him like a brick wall to the face. But it was hearing her voice unexpectedly that really shocked him to his core.

"Well, well. Lady Tsunade said someone was meeting me but I never expected this."

Pakkun nodded a little smugly.

"See ya."

The dog disappeared from his side.

"Asuna…"

The others whispered from behind him.

"Is it really her Kakashi sensei?"

"Yeah. It's her." He could scarcely believe his own eyes and words.

Asuna stood a few metres in front of him somewhat disguised in a dark trench coat. But he could see her face, see the golden red of her hair beneath the hood.

"Hi."

He said feebly while watching her pull the hood back as she stepped a little closer.

"Hello, Kakashi."

And then she smiled, and it was exactly the same as it had been long ago. Infectious as always, he found himself smiling back.

The others appeared next to him.

"Lady Tsunade wanted to make sure you got home safely after all."

Kakashi suddenly felt the familiar calmness that Asuna had always seemed to exude, something he had almost forgotten about.

"A whole team just to get me huh."

She was still smiling, he studied her face for a moment, it remained unchanged. As youthful as the day he'd last seen her. Though her hair was longer, tied back partially in the way it had always been.

His body reacted instinctively when she reached her hand out by way of the old greeting, briefly they locked their palms together. It was reluctantly that he let go.

"This is Sai and Sakura."

"Hello…"

They smiled and exchanged waves.

"You remember Tenzo…"

They nodded to each other but Asuna was already staring at Naruto, though he could see no visible emotion in her face, Kakashi knew it would be rife within her.

"Naruto?"

With his signature grin he stepped towards her.

"Aunty Asuna, they told us you'd be all banged up but you look pretty good to me! You're even prettier than Sakura!"

"Did you just call me… there's no way you could possibly remember…"

"I wasn't sure at first, if it was a dream or a memory. But now I'm definitely sure I remember you, at least, I remember your smile. I'd know that smile anywhere!"

Asuna's eyes flickered to Kakashi for a second, he watched the shock on her face replace itself with joy. She put a hand to Naruto's chin as he approached her.

"You have your mom's face still... I'm so happy I got to see you. I'm so sorry it took me so long."

"Wait a minute, you two are related?!"

Naruto turned to Sakura still wearing the biggest grin. The shock seemed to have curbed her anger at his earlier comment.

"Yeah! But I'm not quite sure how…"

"Naruto's mother and I were cousins by blood, but we always called ourselves sisters."

Sakura looked a little shocked.

"Seriously Sakura, did you even read the mission file?"

This coming from Naruto in a derisive tone was almost laughable. Made even worse when Sai backed him up. Yamato attempted to stop what was coming but failed as Sakura thumped both boys on the head. Kakashi hadn't taken his eye from Asuna, she was watching the exchange with a queer smile before turning to meet his gaze.

There were so many things to say. It was just lucky he was a patient man, there would be time for all that later. Still, it was almost as if time had stopped for them at this moment, the dark blue of her eyes holding him hostage again for the first time in fifteen years.

"Come to think of it, Naruto's right, our first orders were to heal you but it looks as though you're fine. Also, I'm Yamato remember, Kakashi?"

"Right, sorry about that."

Old habits were hard to break, and also hilarious. This good mood he was in could be dangerous.

"It's your left arm isn't it?"

Sakura's sudden question made them all look from her to Asuna. She nodded yes.

"How on earth did you catch that?"

Sakura smiled and approached the avatar's left side.

"The way you're standing tipped me off, but I can also sense your chakra focussed to that shoulder."

"It's fine really. It can wait a while longer."

"You sure?"

Asuna nodded yes and smiled in a way to put them at ease. Kakashi was not so easily convinced.

"If we start moving now we should be able to rendezvous with the other squad before nightfall. But be on your toes, we still don't know if or when the Akatsuki might come after us."

The others nodded to Kakashi, he still kept his eye on Asuna.

"There's no need to worry so much, Scarecrow, I was thorough. There is no one within fifty kilometers who fits their description." She answered in a tone that had him repressing flashbacks to their Anbu days. Complete with nickname.

"You can go up to fifty kilometers now then huh? I forget how much easier this is with you around. Right, let's get going, we still need to get Asuna treated and back to the village before we're done."

"Right."

They started walking, Naruto falling in beside Asuna, presumably to ask her a million questions. Still a little stunned that she was really here Kakashi walked behind them, watching, just in case. Sakura seemed to be concerned too as she immediately positioned herself at Asuna's injured side. The medic briefly cast her eye back at him and he nodded, a silent gesture that she was indeed in the right position.

"I've got so many questions for you Aunty, but first, how is it you can tell that the Akatsuki aren't around?"

"Well, I am the Master of the Elements, so I can use them to judge the perimeter."

"That is useful, but don't you dare bombard her with questions Naruto! She's injured remember?"

Kakashi couldn't help feeling nostalgic watching the exchange, a flash of RIn and Obito walking next to her in the same way during that one brief mission in the early days...

"It's alright, I don't mind. I'm not so good with words though, you'll have to be patient with me." It was the exact same thing she'd once said to them long ago...

"I suppose you wouldn't be after being on your own for so long huh."

She shook her head, no.

"I've always been that way. Your mom always did all the talking for me, so I was never very good at it, and never needed to be."

Asuna was right, but Kakashi wasn't about to agree with her out loud. He'd fallen for that before too.

"But I want to hear all about my nephew, Jiraiya sensei was only able to tell me a little."

It seemed Naruto had been preparing for this, the way he jumped in and began telling her virtually everything and anything he could remember. Occasionally Kakashi would catch a glimpse of her face as she turned her head, it was the kind of contented look he had only rarely seen on her. It did strange things to his insides.

Though Kakashi wasn't paying much attention to Naruto, when his own name would pop up in whatever story was being told Asuna would look back to him and meet his eye with a smile.

It was a surreal feeling. As if it were too good to be true and yet she fit in just as if she'd been with them all along. Leave it to Naruto, he guessed it must have something to do with that. Kakashi sighed in relief for the most part, but he'd feel a lot better once they were off the road and he could give in to distraction comfortably. And finally perhaps finish the last conversation he'd had with Asuna that day she'd left in the rain.

His mind was beginning to cloud over. Snapping out of it in time to notice Asuna casually put a hand to her injured shoulder and hold it there. If it were anyone else the action wouldn't concern him, but he raised an eyebrow, Sakura turned to catch his eye and understood. She hung back a bit to talk to him.

"Kakashi sensei…"

"You noticed it too huh."

Naruto continued to talk loudly while Asuna listened intently to every word.

"Lady Tsunade warned me that the avatar was good at hiding pain and injury, and that she may not let me heal her at all."

"Yeah. I suspect if Master Jiraiya hadn't said anything we might never have known she was hurt in the first place."

"Lady Tsunade also said that you would know everything in the file we have on her. Not that there was much in it to begin with…"

"So what are you asking me, Sakura?"

"I only understand a little about how the avatar's chakra is different than a normal persons. It's got me worried that my medical jutsu won't be as effective…"

Kakashi considered his answer for a moment.

"There's no need for you to worry about that."

"Huh, why?"

"Well, it's true that avatar chakra isn't like yours or mine, but that's not the reason why Asuna doesn't seek treatment for her injuries."

There was a second where he succumbed to an involuntary flashback, an image of Asuna covered in her own blood. Sakura waited for him to continue, the sounds of Naruto babbling on offering them some privacy.

"You could call it a byproduct of being alone for so long, though I suspect it goes a little deeper than that. I can't tell you much more I'm afraid, but I'm sure you'll do just fine."

He hadn't intended for his response to be so cryptic, but that was how it had come across. He didn't feel comfortable burdening Sakura with the simple truth. Asuna just didn't trust anyone. Because he knew the reasons why it made it simpler, but it wasn't a tale for him to tell his student. Despite the daggers she shot him.

Naruto's raucous laughter distracted them, it seemed now even Sai and Yamato were caught up in whatever tale was being told. Kakashi managed to catch the end of it however.

"Kakashi sensei missed the whole thing while he was in the hospital though, right sensei?"

"Huh? Yeah, I guess."

Sakura saw an opening in the conversation and jumped at it.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you about something."

"What, what did I do now?!"

She had already snatched his hand and stormed ahead, berating him along the way.

"I'm sure Lady Asuna and Kakashi sensei have plenty to catch up on…"

Naruto looked back to Kakashi in fear as he was dragged off, Sakura scolding him.

"Okay…"

"Is it always this lively _sensei_?"

Falling into step beside Asuna he caught the amusement in her voice.

"Basically, yeah. All the time."

Even as he said it there was a small scuffle between Sai and Sakura. Yamato looked back scratching his head with an apologetic expression. Kakashi sighed. Naruto was back to grinning wildly as whatever mix up Sai had caused smoothed over.

Kakashi's eye fell to Asuna as she watched Naruto with a smile.

"You're going to have to get used to someone doing all the talking for you again huh."

"Got that right."

Her smile widened and it had the same dizzying effect on him as it used to. It was the smile he used to recall in his darkest moments. When she shifted her gaze to meet his, a thousand memories came flooding back and it was all he could do to keep walking.

Words were never exactly necessary with Asuna, not for him at least, he would gladly walk beside her in silence any day. It was one of the things he'd enjoyed the most about her company in the past. It also meant that when she did have something to say it was worth hearing.

"He reminds me a bit of someone…"

Immediately he knew that someone was Obito. That was how it worked between the two of them, there was an instinctive way in which they communicated. Just as there had always been. Specific and hurtful details could be skipped over but still understood.

"Yeah, it's uncanny huh."

There was still a smile on her face, casually she put a hand to her brow and then to her left side.

"You alright?"

She looked a little surprised at the question.

"Yeah, just not used to walking in sunlight I guess."

"Well, it'll be getting darker soon, we should be reaching our rendezvous location by dusk at this pace."

"Yes, Naruto told me about that, I do have a... small query…"

Kakashi caught her eye again, in the past it had been unusual for Asuna to ask him anything directly.

"When he said 'bushy brows' squad…"

He made a small chuckle.

"Naruto means Guy and his team."

"That makes sense now. So that's who's meeting us, apt nickname."

He didn't have the heart to tell her the nickname applied to Lee and not Guy. It would be more interesting to see her reaction to it later. The amusement must have shown on his face as she gave him a discerning look. Perhaps he should probably warn her about it, but where was the fun in that?

"Apologies, I realize we need to get Naruto away from danger, but I don't think I can move any faster right now."

Her admission of diminished capacity now had him very concerned. Asuna had always hidden her pain, it was a survival technique. At least she still trusted him enough to say it, especially after the last time they had spoken.

"It's been dangerous around the borders but we should be fine from here on in, we have numbers on our side also... And I've told you before, you never have to apologize to me."

The last part Kakashi said quietly enough just for her ears, though he doubted the others could hear them.

This time their eyes locked in a different way, with a deeper significance.

"Thank you, Kakashi."

It was an odd sensation, walking alongside her in the sunshine after so many years. If it weren't for the mission, and the others walking boisterously ahead, he could have gladly spent the rest of the afternoon just looking at her. Then there was also the impending sense of danger, no matter how hard he tried to dismiss it. There was still a very real threat out somewhere moving ever closer toward them. Even so, he could not seem to stop revelling in the fact that she was _actually_ here beside him.

It was a feeling not likely to dissipate until they could talk properly, and _finally_ finish the last conversation they'd had.

That was, if she wanted to. And he wouldn't blame her if she didn't. He had been a complete fool. It was perfect timing for Naruto to break free from whatever scolding Sakura had given him.

"Aunty Asuna, so what did Pervy Sage say about me huh? Did he tell you how amazing I am?"

Her eyes flit to Naruto for a second before coming back to Kakashi's,

"Pervy sage is Master Jiraiya I take it?"

When he nodded yes she laughed in a way that made him laugh a little too.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

 _Another day, another mission. Kakashi woke as usual, minutes before his alarm and in a cold sweat. The nightmares from the few hours sleep he'd had were already fading._

 _Except they weren't exactly nightmares. They were memories, his memories, and they would be back again the very next time he closed his eyes. Unless today he was lucky enough to get a mission worth exhausting both his mind and body. He was sure the Anbu would be obliging in that regard._

 _Preparing himself for the day, he tried to remember the last time he'd slept without fear and panic but the thought was disturbed. Guy's face appearing at his window._

" _Yo! Lord Fourth is summoning you!"_

 _At least the day was promising to be interesting. Though he always felt a little trepidation whenever he approached Minato sensei - Lord Fourth. Like his teacher could see through his mask to the failure that he'd become, the friend killer. The mask of the Anbu didn't hide everything._

" _You wanted to see me?"_

" _Yes, I have a mission for you."_

" _WIll this be part of my regular Anbu duties sir?"_

 _Minato moved from the window to his seat._

" _Not exactly. You've been in the Anbu for about a year now right? Well, this mission is top secret, even from the Anbu, and you're the only one I can trust to do it. Normally I would go on this mission personally, but something else has come up and I won't be able to go this time."_

" _What is this mission sensei?"_

" _It would be better if you were both here for that part, you can show yourself now."_

 _Kakashi was almost surprised when in a flash, another person appeared next to him. Also in Anbu gear._

" _You called Lord Fourth?"_

" _Yes, it's time. You may remove your masks, both of you."_

 _Kakashi obliged, though at the sound of her voice he already knew who the other shinobi was._

" _Kakashi, you are to accompany Asuna to the Land of Earth in my stead, to complete the final stages of the avatar's training ritual. Protect her and watch over her, and above all else be cautious. This is not an enemy to be taken lightly. That's all."_

 _Kakashi gave a sliding glance to Asuna, he noted the slight surprise on her face, she even made a noise to argue with the Hokage himself._

" _But, sensei…"_

" _It'll be fine Asuna. The Land of Earth is far enough that our enemies may not have reached it yet. But you need to leave now, and you may not be back for sometime. Fill Kakashi in on the details on your way, he's my right hand man so tell him all that he needs to know."_

 _They were already walking out of the village before she said anything to him. And it was only because he'd grown impatient and frustrated with the situation. They were old friends, supposedly, so the fact that she had not been so keen to be on this mission with him specifically was bothersome. Kakashi tried not to let it get to him, but his mind had no other distraction at present. Which was also bothering. Usually when something tangible was bothering him, he made it stop._

" _We don't normally go on assignments together huh…"_

 _He didn't blame her for not answering, it wasn't even a question after all, simple fact. Asuna was silent as the gates to the village became more distant behind them. This was going to be one hell of a long mission if she wasn't going to say anything, and knowing her, she would likely be silent most of the time._

" _I get that you usually go it solo and your missions are top secret, but you're going to have to give me some details sooner or later."_

 _Still silence. He was growing more and more frustrated._

" _You don't trust me then?"_

 _The accusation appeared to genuinely hurt her and she finally snapped back._

" _Of course I trust you, idiot."_

 _Instead of putting him at ease all it seemed to do was annoy him further. He had thought that Asuna, of all people, was someone he could unconditionally count on._

" _What is it then, am I not strong enough?"_

 _She didn't speak, just shook her head._

 _Another, more disturbing, thought crossed Kakashi's mind against his will. A sudden image of the nightmare he'd tried to forget flashed in his mind's eye, fuelling his anger and morphing it into despair._

" _You think I can't protect you. Can't say I blame you, but I thought we were... different, you can at least trust…"_

 _This time he'd struck a nerve in her. Obvious by the way she just simply stopped walking and interrupted him._

" _It's not that. Not at all."_

 _She'd said it sternly enough to make him stop mid sentence. It was akin to being told off by a teacher. But she looked so downcast as she faced him, what he'd assumed was displeasure at being lumped on a mission with him was something else entirely._

 _Suddenly he felt sad for different reasons altogether._

" _I promise, that's not true. And as I've said before, apart from Kushina, you're all the family I have…. We are, as you put it, different."_

 _Kakashi had forgotten, she had said that before, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He looked down at his feet. Since Obito and Rin he must have been a pretty useless friend to Asuna, she obviously had her own problems. And she'd even been taking care of him on top of all that._

 _It was only the feeling of her hand in his that brought his attention back to her face. When Asuna spoke she finally met his eye and he understood._

" _It's bad enough that Minato sensei got himself involved in this, now he's roped you into it. There's a reason I go it solo Kakashi, there are… people after me, terrible people. You can't even imagine the extent of what they're capable of. And if they ever got to you…"_

 _He took a tighter hold of her hand. Asuna seemed to respond to the contact._

" _I admit, I have no idea what's going on with you. I've been a pretty terrible friend lately. But listen, this isn't the first mission we've been on together. I wonder if you remember what you said to me on the very first assignment we got."_

 _Asuna was never a very big talker, she remained silent but there was a gleam of recognition in her eyes now. So he finished it for her._

" _We protect each other. Always. You said it because I thought you needed protecting, and I let it get in the way of the mission, but I was wrong, you were far stronger than me. So you don't need to worry yourself about anyone getting to me, when I have you to back me up. I think I lost sight of it for a while... I won't let anyone get to you either, no matter who these terrible people are. Trust me?"_

 _He felt her hand ease in his, and watched as she became less tense._

" _Always."_

" _Good. Now let's get moving, you can tell me what I need to know on the way."_

Maybe she did still trust him a little bit. Maybe she would hear out what he had to say.

Four weeks it had taken to complete that last assignment together and if he had to pinpoint the moment when he realized just how significant she was in his life, that mission would be it. He'd been a fool not to see it earlier. Assuming it had something to do with Naruto's endless stories about his own first missions, Kakashi had succumbed to nostalgia again.

It wasn't that he hadn't trusted Asuna or her strength during their very first mission together as genin. It was his father's words that were etched into his brain that had clouded his judgment and made working with her impossible.

 _'You'll need to watch over that girl, son.'_

That's what he had said. Except Kakashi had misunderstood his meaning entirely. As usual Asuna had been the one to show him what his father had really meant. After that, every subsequent mission with her had been easy. Too easy.

"Is that where we're staying sensei?"

Kakashi may have had to shake his head a little to snap out of it completely.

"Yeah that's it. We got here before dark too, good timing."

In the orange dusk the inn was still clearly visible a ways down the road.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" With that Naruto took off leaving them in the dust.

"So much energy…"

As soon as Naruto was well ahead of them Asuna's expression slowly faded to one Kakashi could not fathom. Even her voice dulled when she had spoken. Luckily his brain wasn't completely clouded.

"Sakura…"

As soon as he said it Asuna slowed and faltered in her step. It was also lucky he was walking at her right side, and able to keep her upright as she stumbled.

"It's okay, lean on me for a bit." Kakashi said quietly, though he wasn't sure Asuna could hear him.

Sakura was just in time to see Asuna's eyes roll back into her head as she passed out with a smile still playing about her lips. Seamlessly Sakura assumed the role of a medical ninja, assessing Asuna as she slumped against Kakashi. He couldn't help but feel, what he assumed to be akin to, fatherly pride at her exceptional ability.

"She's exhausted. I'll take her injured side sensei."

Sai appeared to have continued after Naruto, in the distance Kakashi could even make out Guy's frantic waving as the blond haired boy arrived outside the inn ahead of them.

"What happened? She seemed fine a while ago."

Yamato asked as he looked back confused.

"I think she may have been deliberately hiding it until we got off the road, that right sensei?"

The way Sakura grasped the situation with very little information was also impressive. He gave her a curt nod.

"Yeah, let's get off the road."

At that moment something began troubling Kakashi, call it a hunch. It was just unfortunate that his hunches were usually correct. As they reached the entrance the noise of Naruto's reunion with Guy's squad roused Asuna momentarily.

She got a good glimpse of Guy rushing toward them.

"It's her! It's really her! What a sight for sore eyes you are old friend, and still as beautiful as the last time I saw you…"

"Wow, she really is beautiful Guy sensei!"

Lee and Naruto appeared next to Guy wearing the same smile.

"Of course she's beautiful, she's my aunt y'know!"

Kakashi watched Asuna blink a few times and smirk. Faintly he heard her speak, though he was sure no one else had.

"Y'know, huh…"

With that her eyes closed.

"Pakkun wasn't kidding, he said she might be injured but I wasn't expecting this."

"Yeah, let's get her seen to, we can talk later." Kakashi's patience faltered with his reply, made worse by Naruto.

"What are you guys talking about? Aunty Asuna is just sleeping isn't she? I thought she looked a bit tired but she seemed fine on the way here…."

"Don't be an idiot Naruto, just look at her. And get out of the way, we need to get her inside so I can heal her."

It wasn't an ideal situation, but it would suffice. Rushing into one of their vacant rooms, and with a little help from a very confused Tenten, Sakura was finally able to get to work. The main challenge being shooing all of the others away. That being said Kakashi still stood just outside the sliding door in the adjoining room, listening to her every move.

As soon as Asuna's trench coat was removed Sakura was able to see the extent of the damage. That was the point where she'd kicked Kakashi out. Now alone with her patient, for the most part, Sakura could not believe herself the level of injuries to the small woman lying before her.

It wasn't the obvious wounds that had her the most concerned. There were just too many to list. First call of action had been Asuna's left shoulder, there was a deep wound that seemed to be infected, it had been tightly bandaged, probably by Asuna herself. Though Sakura was stunned that the avatar had managed to even stop the bleeding in the first place. If that wound were any deeper the arm would have needed to be reattached to her body.

Sakura guessed that perhaps an hour had passed while she redressed and treated the shoulder wound. It was then that she could hear the impatient shuffling of Kakashi sensei in the next room. Perhaps it would be best to brief them for the moment before she started on the next course of treatment. For a minute she cast her eyes to Asuna's resting face, it was so peaceful that there was no way you would know that she was in pain, though she had to be.

Sakura shook her head and slid the partition door open a little, some of the others were noisily preparing for the baths, others were patrolling the grounds. With a nod to Kakashi he followed her back into the room, Guy and Yamato in tow.

Sakura had been careful to place blankets back over Asuna for her own modesty but the toll her body had sustained was wholly visible to the room.

"What are we dealing with here Sakura?"

Kakashi spoke as he folded his arms and stood at the foot of the bed she was resting in.

"The long version or the short…"

At her words the jonin all reacted similarly.

"Seriously, it's that bad…"

"Just look at her Guy…" Yamato said while scratching his head.

Kakashi quelled the others, he appeared to still be in the same dreadful mood as before.

"Give us the short version for now, what do you need?"

As usual that big brain of his had worked out exactly why Sakura had needed to consult with them.

"Apart from the physical damage to her body, the biggest concern is the amount of blood Asuna has lost. She needs a transfusion as soon as possible, I've ascertained her blood type, so if I can manage to find someone among us with the same then there won't be any problems. But she needs this immediately. Frankly I'm amazed she was able to move at all in this condition."

"And if none of us have the same blood type?" Yamato's words seemed to hang in the air until she answered.

"We'll need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. I can test blood types with this litmus paper, but I don't want to leave her side so could…."

"Leave it to me." Yamato took the papers and left quickly.

"Sakura, while we wait, give us the long version…"

"But Kakashi…" Guy interjected but it was simply ignored as Kakashi spoke louder.

"Once we have all the information laid before us we can start making plans, it's about all we'll be able to do here while you're treating Asuna."

Sakura wondered at what Guy was about to say, but didn't want to anger her sensei any further, he seemed tense enough as it was.

"Well there's the blood loss. Muscle abrasions, contusions, a few cracked ribs, as well as some permanent organ damage. Then there's the business of this left shoulder, it looks almost as though someone tried to hack the arm off from the joint, she would have very nearly lost the limb entirely. I don't quite know how she managed it, but the arm is still attached, though the wound is infected…"

"Asuna has her own kind of healing powers, though they were very limited from memory." Guy said while folding his arms and casting an eye over Asuna's resting form.

"Well that explains a little bit I guess…" Sakura mumbled.

"I'll go help Yamato speed it up, you alright there Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded to him before Guy left the room, Sakura hadn't noticed it before but the expression on her sensei's face had completely changed, and the way he was squeezing the arms he had folded across his chest.

"You weren't finished were you Sakura?"

Even his voice had become different.

"No, I wasn't. There's also evidence of severe dehydration and malnutrition, signs of torture but I can't be certain. The pictures I've seen of Asuna were only of her face so I'm not sure exactly if she's always been this small or not, I wish I could tell if…"

That was when she thought she saw him noticeably shaking, it was interrupted as Yamato returned in a huff.

"Naruto is a match…" he caught his breath, "he was in the hot spring, he's on his way."  
Sakura sighed.

"Thank goodness." She turned to smile at Kakashi sensei, perhaps to put him at ease for some unknown reason, and was disgusted to see him pull out that wretched pervy book. "Now's not the time for that…!"

She began to yell but was cut short as he held out something for her to take which had been removed from the book itself. Kakashi wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Here."

"What is this, a bookmark?"

"Turn it over."

In her hands she held a small discoloured picture of a smiling girl awkwardly holding hands with the boy standing next to her, who was looking thoroughly unimpressed himself. Even when he was younger, Kakashi bore that same look behind the mask.

"It's a little faded, but that's the most recent picture of Asuna you'll find."

Sakura suddenly realised with clarity exactly why Kakashi had been acting strangely. She blinked at the photo a few times, looking at the beautiful blonde haired, _healthy_ , girl. Sakura guessed that she might've been the same age as her when it was taken. She looked up to see Kakashi watching Asuna while she slept, and understood the odd expression on his face she'd seen earlier. Recognizing a look she had portrayed herself a few times in the past at the bedside of a teammate...

When Yamato began looking over her shoulder at the photo, there was just a split second where she must have blinked and Kakashi had taken the picture back with great speed. He held it up with two fingers before depositing it back into the book.

"I can't believe you still carry that round with you…" Yamato was cut short by a stampeding Naruto bursting through the doors.

By this stage Sakura was still staring dumbfounded. But now there was work to be done, everything else would have to wait until afterward. And now she knew at least that Asuna was always a little on the small side. Sakura needn't panic for the meantime.

"What's going on here? You need to take my blood Sakura?"

"Yes. Sit down, we can't afford to dawdle right now."

Immediately she began setting up the IV to Naruto's arm, mentally congratulating herself for packing all that she had. Kakashi began to shuffle Yamato out of the room, before he was out the door she called to him.

"Kakashi sensei…"

"Hmm?"

It was the same bored tone as always but at least now she understood a little better.

"Thank you for showing that to me."

His mask wrinkled in what she presumed was a smile before he left, closing the door behind him.

Naruto was eyeing Asuna's resting form with what Sakura knew to be worry.

"She's so tiny."

"Yeah. No need to worry though Naruto, leave her to me, I'll get her up and healthy in no time."

"Thanks Sakura. I know you will. I just have about a million more things to tell her y'know, and I wanna ask her some stuff too. Talking to her today made me so happy, I wasn't expecting it at all."

She didn't have the heart to tell him that he may be waiting a little while. Though she suspected she'd have to drum it into him later when he started to pester her.

"That reminds me, what did Kakashi sensei show you? Is it an awesome new jutsu or something?"

Sakura paused in her work to glance at Asuna, to make sure she wasn't listening. There was no way she could be conscious yet.

"He showed me his bookmark."

"What? Bookmark? That's lame."

"Naruto…"

Her tone was not to be trifled with, a mixture of seriousness and sadness that she usually reserved for the topic of Sasuke.

"Yeah."

"What do you know about your Aunt and Kakashi sensei?"

He seemed confused but answered.

"They were neighbors, I know they're friends, I mean he even chased after her when she left. But I don't know what you mean Sakura?"

"Seriously? He went after her?"

"Yeah, he told me so himself. Said he wanted to save her. You gonna tell me what you're going on about now?"

She paused.

"You remember, ages ago, what Kakashi sensei said to that spy lady from the Lock Village? Back when the three of us tried to set them up."

The nostalgia in remembering their misadventure when Sasuke was still with them was a little depressing.

"Sort of. Maybe, I guess. What are you getting at?"

"And you heard what Captain Yamato said, about Kakashi sensei being completely different when she was around…"

A glimmer of understanding crossed Naruto's features.

"Come to think of it, Guy sensei said something similar when we first got here. About seeing the two of them together again… Wait a minute, you don't think…" He seemed a little perturbed at the very idea of it.

"When Kakashi sensei told that spy lady that he had given his heart to someone else, I think it could be your Aunt he was talking about."

"What? Seriously?" Naruto's tone turned serious. "Poor Kakashi sensei…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it makes me sad for the both of them really. But just imagine, finding the person you love, and then not knowing if they're alive or dead for fifteen years."

It was a feeling Sakura knew all too well. Though she did her utmost to hide that from her teammate.

"We don't know if it's true yet Naruto, don't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts…. Just… next time you're able, get a look at that bookmark."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Not quite as alone as he would've liked, Kakashi sat with his back to the wall. He had retreated outdoors, while remaining as near to the sliding door as possible, beside the room where Sakura was finishing her treatment on Asuna.

Though mostly under cover, Kakashi enjoyed the fresh air as he sat on the deck facing the garden. He particularly enjoyed being still for a moment as his muscles began to ache familiarly. What he did not enjoy, was the incessant questioning from Guy, who had sought him out and seemed intent on sticking close. The first questions hadn't been so bothersome, but then Guy had started to repeat like a broken record.

"Are you sure you're alright Kakashi? I can't even imagine what's going through your head right now."

"I'm fine Guy, really."

"You say that but I know you must be burning up inside. This situation might not be the greatest, but shouldn't we be celebrating! We're finally bringing her home!"

"Yeah…"

"I know you kept it to yourself what actually happened that night she left but maybe it's time….."

Kakashi had never been so grateful to Guy's neediest student, Lee, as he appeared before his sensei with a request. It offered him a moment to quietly slip away, which was good as his mind was out of flimsy excuses these days, though he lamented straying any further from that room. So he settled for the adjoining one, not noticing Guy and Lee's eyes on him. They thankfully didn't follow.

For a while he sat quietly, feigning sleep while the others patrolled. Occasionally someone would walk in and rest quietly in the room, but eventually they would move on. None tried to wake him, though Neji could probably easily determine that he was not actually asleep. Even Naruto hadn't disturbed him. Kakashi was pretty sure that after giving blood Naruto had stayed in the room with Asuna, just in case he was needed again.

The whole time Kakashi had been 'resting' there had been many troubling thoughts cross his mind. The conversation he'd had with Asuma Sarutobi at the hospital being one of them.

" _She'll probably walk out of there and then take on the Akatsuki herself."_

And though he appeared calm and collected as usual, Kakashi could feel the anger bubbling away beneath the surface. Well, it was either anger or conviction, it took an awful lot to make him actually lose his temper. Like hell he was going to let that happen, let her be used again like that, he'd have to think of something.

In an effort to calm himself he withdrew the copy of 'Makeout Tactics' from his pocket. Thumbing through the pages he almost jumped up when Naruto walked through the door with a stretch. But he had always been the master of hiding any and all emotion.

"How's it going in there?"

He had waited an acceptable few seconds before asking the question. Naruto looked a little downcast but made an effort to smile.

"Go see for yourself, she's doing better, at least Sakura says so. I can't tell coz she's still out cold."

Kakashi stood slowly, book still in hand.

"Don't be disheartened Naruto, you don't go to war for fifteen years and come out of it unscathed. Give it a little time."

He wasn't sure if he was saying it more for his own benefit at this point.

"I know, I know. It just doesn't seem fair y'know."

"Yeah, I know."

Kakashi put a hand to the boys shoulder as he made to step past him. Pausing briefly, wondering if there was anything more he could add to make either of them feel better. There was nothing springing to mind, in any case Naruto seemed a little distracted as he appeared to be trying to peer inside the open volume of _Makeout Tactics_ he held in his other hand.

With a look of bemusement Kakashi slid past him.

Sakura had shifted to a small table where she was concentrating on mixing various things together, she cast her eye toward Asuna when he entered.

"How are you bearing up Sakura?" Though he was speaking to his student his eyes remained on the avatar's still form.

"Well, there's a lot more to the injuries than I first expected. But _I'm_ doing just fine, and I think she's doing a little better now too. Asuna's really something though, that chakra of hers is extraordinary."

He stopped short of agreeing with her out loud. It was the truth, she was one of a kind in more ways than one. The book he'd cracked open remained in his hand as his arms dropped to his side.

"Well that's some good news at least."

"I took as much blood from Naruto as I could for now, but it should be enough until we get back to the village. I know it sounds silly, but maybe it's because the blood came from Naruto in the first place, she's actually healing quickly just like he does. Maybe not as fast…"

She was right, it did sound silly, but stranger things had happened. Again he kept this thought to himself, Kakashi had given quite enough away about himself today. Instead he watched the slow rise and fall of Asuna's chest, that comforted him a little, she was still breathing.

"The others have put dinner together. I can watch the fort here for a bit."

Sakura stood and smiled a little.

"I guess. There's really nothing more I can do for the minute anyway. You'll get me straight away if there's any trouble right?"

"Right."

Kakashi stood back from the foot of the bed and sat in the chair against the wall. Looking briefly out at the darkness of the night, he hadn't noticed exactly when the sun had dropped completely. But it must have been an hour ago at least. The window offered no other view, but his eye had gone back to Asuna in any case.

With a bit of colour returned to her, it almost appeared as if she were just sleeping. When she sighed in her sleep he decided she must be dreaming about something. He hoped her dreams were better than his had been lately. For several minutes he allowed himself to be content in gazing at her face with entire impunity, familiarizing himself with the way her hair fell about her face.

Sakura didn't spend too much time away from the room, she returned and immediately checked on her patient. In between chastising him for not eating yet.

"I'm on a diet, it's fine."

"Diet my behind. You just got out of the hospital, so don't go exhausting yourself and wind back in there. Honestly, we should have a room reserved just for you."

Kakashi would have attempted to protect his pride a little bit, but they both knew she was correct. Instead he deferred to _Makeout Tactics_ in a bid to ignore her. It was just a pity he couldn't concentrate on that either, Asuna was really here in front of him after all, and he'd much rather be watching her every breath.

Sakura adjusted a bag of fluids and went to retrieve another one. His eye still on the bag itself he didn't notice…

"See your taste in literature hasn't improved…"

He stood quickly while Sakura rushed straight over. Asuna hadn't tried to move her body, but her eyes were open and a smirk on her lips from her own joke.

"Can't just not finish the series now can I?"

Kakashi pocketed the book and watched Asuna's smirk grow wider. It pleased him more than it should.

"My katana…"

"It's over here Miss Asuna, I had to take it off you to start treatment. How are you feeling?"

When she went to sit up Sakura tried to stop her, but Asuna waved the medic off. Managing to sit upright while holding the blankets to her. Casually she looked down at the arm the IVs were connected to, and then to the corner where her sword stood against the wall.

"Actually, this is the best I've felt in a while. Thank you, Sakura."

Kakashi's mask hid the small smile on his lips.

"I'm surprised you were able to move at all with the amount of blood you've lost. What the hell happened to this arm of yours? How did you manage not to lose it completely?"

Asuna had never been one to actively participate in conversation. But as she glanced to her shoulder and to Kakashi, she bore an expression he recognized as defeat. Wearing only bandages and a singlet the damage was too obvious to be able to change the subject in the way that she used to in the past.

"I'm sure you know I am able to heal a little with my ability, it's a bit... different than your usual medical ninjutsu. As for the injury itself…" She paused as if she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be talking about it. "It was an error in judgement, nothing more. I allowed myself to be captured in order to infiltrate a Hoshi prison. I didn't anticipate the methods they would take to stop me from using the elements, I was successful so it wasn't in vain at least. But the injury was unavoidable."

"Master Jiraiya said the Hoshi had moved to it's final stronghold a couple weeks ago…"

Asuna nodded in reply to his words, that was when the injury had occurred obviously. Sakura interrupted them.

"Hold on a minute, you've been this injured for _weeks?_ The dehydration and blood loss alone should have killed you, you mean you were fighting in this state?"

Asuna nodded to her with a meek smile. But to Kakashi everything seemed warm and fine, _she was ok._ It washed over him with each word she spoke.

"My healing trick is able to control blood inside my own body specifically. I can stop the flow where needed but still move it to the necessary parts. It's called blood bending, it's not a well known ability, it requires constant concentration and is considered pretty extreme in any civilized society."

"Which means you haven't slept since that fight."

Sakura shot a concerned expression to Kakashi as he spoke.

"Not for more than five minutes, no. Otherwise the bleeding picked up again. More than once I passed out and came to just in time to stop it. But I'll admit, when Jiraiya sensei found me, I was at my limit."

He had never seen Asuna pushed so close to death in all the years he'd known her. But now it was all over. The smile must have shown through his mask because she smiled back at him in the way she used to. His insides began to churn familiarly, he knew better than to write it off as hunger. Sakura was taking vitals and mumbling.

"If you don't mind Miss Asuna, there's some more treatment I'd like to administer, and then we might even get you enjoying the hot springs."

Asuna's raised an eyebrow a fraction.

"That does sound good…"

"Besides Kakashi sensei needs to _eat_ and _sleep._ Doesn't he?"

It was a tone not to be trifled with, paired with a look that might've stopped his heart out of fear for a few beats. A sudden flashback to their most recent bell test… He held his hands up in defeat, Asuna nodded with that same smile.

"Can't have you back in the hospital now can we?"

Any further conversation was halted as Naruto came bursting into the room, slinking back against the wall, Kakashi caught Asuna's eye for a fraction of a second before he left. There would be time later, he just had to be a little more patient.

Neji was entering the same room through the other door and nodded quickly to him.

"Anything to report?"

"Nothing so far, Sai has sent out patrols just in case, but I think we will be safe here for the night. There appears to be nothing suspicious at all for as far as I can see."

"More good news… Keep up the good work…"

It might've appeared aloof to any of the others watching, but Kakashi simply didn't care what they thought at this moment. And for some reason he felt a weight of tiredness on his shoulders. So he retreated to the final room that they had booked, one solely for sleeping in. Thankfully it was early enough yet that no one else was there.

It was all he could do to find a cozy spot in the corner and rest against the wall before his eyes closed. This time sleep would not elude him, _she was safe._

 _Through the pouring rain, and occasional explosion, there was a mantra running through his mind._

 _What an idiot._

 _How could he have been so blind, so stupid? It repeated over and over. Perhaps he'd inherited Obito's naivety as well as his eye. But even Obito would have seen this before he had, at least Kakashi imagined that he would have. The mantra morphed into Obito's voice._

 _'Stupid Kakashi…'_

 _And yet here he was, wading through enemy fire in an impossible situation and somehow he had to find a way to protect her. Asuna really hadn't been kidding when she said terrible people were after her. And there were so many of them. But this was one mission he would never fail._

" _Kashi, I have a plan…"_

 _And that was how the pair of them came to be at the bottom of the lake. In a diversion effort Kakashi had sent clones off in one direction, while they had used Asuna's bending powers to cross under the lake unseen._

 _It was pitch black, and they were already saturated from the rain. The cold began to seep through to his bones. It was also eerily quiet at the bottom of the lake, the pressure was making his ears ring dully, Asuna needed to concentrate on the bubble of air that surrounded them and there was only silence. This whole week he'd felt useless, like she'd been the one protecting him while it was his mission to protect her. Though this was their first real encounter with any of the unnamed enemy. Kakashi admitted he still didn't know a lot of the actual details, he'd been able to fill in the blanks so far but Asuna really needed to explain some things now._

 _On top of that he was a little awestruck that she'd been fighting like this on her own for so long. But it wasn't the time for admiration. The bedrock was beginning to slope upwards, after forty minutes of trudging through freezing cold in the darkness. He'd had to keep ahold to the hilt of her sword just to make sure he was going in the right direction._

" _I'll keep the bubble going until we break the surface, just in case we were followed."_

" _Right."_

 _He readied his kunai. At least he'd past the shivering of coldness to just feeling numb in his extremities. He hoped it wouldn't slow his movements._

 _When they broke the surface they both went back to back in preparation for a fight, but there were only the noises of the lake in the night. Gentle lapping of water and the odd cricket chirping. They both sighed. Even the rain had stopped._

" _Anything?"_

" _Nothing for twenty kilometers. It must have worked." She sounded a little surprised._

 _They both eased._

 _Kakashi began to wade toward the rocky shore, looking back briefly to see the massive expanse of water they'd just crossed. Far off in the distance there was a booming explosion, he could just make out a burst of amber flames on the horizon._

" _Don't tell me…"_

" _That's the shadow clones alright. You were right, they set up traps in the direction they thought we were heading. That should buy us some time."_

 _Asuna nodded while she looked on at the explosion. Kakashi's eyes were resting on her now in the sudden light, and the way her damp clothes were clinging to her body. Shaking himself free from those thoughts his eyes scanned the shoreline._

 _They'd surfaced on an island that was large enough to conceal them nicely, the mist around the lake would surely help with that too. He adjusted his headband to cover his left eye, satisfied they were clear of any enemies._

" _That jutsu of yours is…" By the time his attention was brought back to Asuna her eyes were already rolling back into her head as she fell forward a little. He was at her side in a flash."Lean on me a bit."_

 _On the verge of passing out she didn't argue._

" _We haven't stopped moving in 48 hours, we'll find somewhere to rest up and make a solid plan."_

 _It was the first time he'd been of any use to her in a week, if you didn't count the clones. Even then she seemed to only need his assistance to get out of the shallow water. Not taking no for an answer he took her arm, forcing her to at least keep hold of him a bit._

" _There's a cave, behind that bush line…"_

 _Asuna was out of breath as she spoke but seemed to be regaining herself. It amazed him how quickly she pulled herself together, even after the fight and chase they'd just had. Not to mention whatever jutsu she'd used to move them underwater. They made their way to shelter, the rain holding off for the moment._

" _That jutsu of yours underwater just now…"_

" _It's not a jutsu."_

 _She interrupted him, which was unusual for her. But it explained why the sharingan didn't pick up anything._

" _I wondered."_

" _I was combining air and water bending, it was just the sheer pressure that I wasn't anticipating. That lake is a lot deeper than it looks."_

 _Kakashi figured as much._

" _Let's get to shelter and warm up, then we can debrief."_

 _In all honesty the warmth of her body holding onto his, even in just this slight way had parts of him thawing out already. By the time they had reached the cave every gust of wind had frozen another part of his gear to his body, it felt as if the other half of him would never feel warmth again. He relinquished his hold of her to scout the small cave in the dark. It would do for now._

" _It's safe. Though you could probably tell that better than me."_

 _She walked in past him with a smirk but said nothing as usual. Kakashi watched Asuna place her hand to the ground in the strange way she did sometimes, reading vibrations or whatever she called it, this time he thought he felt the ripples in the earth she'd created._

 _In her other hand she created a ball of fire in the show off way that she always had. Without saying a word he gathered some debris to burn, the cave was really only large enough for them both to lie down in, but he suspected she'd made a little more room with that last ripple. When he placed what he'd found in the corner of their new 'house' the flame in her hand shot to it and started flickering away. Kakashi had found it wasn't like ordinary flame, it burnt regardless of what it touched, even if it wasn't completely dry. It also kept burning with very little there to fuel it. In any case he was appreciative, the shivering had just about started again._

" _I'm sealing us in to be sure."_

 _Kakashi watched the earth move as he raised an eyebrow in reply. She immediately pointed to above the fire, where she'd made a chimney. He could have scoffed, she was three steps ahead of him this mission, it was doing his head in a bit. But he guessed that her fire wasn't normal to begin with, so they should be fine enough and not smoked out of the cave. It wasn't making any smoke to begin with._

 _As soon as there was solid rock locking them inside Asuna slumped against the wall and to the ground where Kakashi joined her. Though they hadn't been running or fighting for a little while, suddenly they were both out of breath just sitting there next to each other. Accumulative fatigue from the last 48 hours._

" _That was nuts."_

" _Yeah."_

" _How many did you count? I got to 120."_

 _Asuna glanced at him sideways before she answered._

" _There were 140 on the ground, at least when they ambushed us. Then I stopped counting…."  
Now that his limbs were beginning to get feeling back into them his brain was also working a lot better._

" _Who were they?"_

 _Already she was hesitant to answer._

" _Hired thugs for the most part. With a few actual Hoshi members amongst them I'd wager. At least that's how it usually goes, it's impossible to tell them apart until they launch an attack."_

 _This nameless enemy of hers that seemed to be pursuing them at every turn, whoever they were, had numbers on their side. Kakashi was starting to see just how relentless they could be. Perhaps even a little insight as to why she was usually alone during these missions._

" _Look I know you don't want me knowing too much, I get it, that's fine. But if we're going to work out a plan I'm going to need to know a bit more detail."_

" _I was just thinking the same thing. I'm not so good at the talking part so you'll have to be patient."_

 _Kakashi scoffed._

" _Yeah, that's about right."_

 _Asuna gave him a sharp elbow to the ribcage for the remark, but he heard her snigger so figured he was off the hook._

" _Long story short, you know we're heading to an earth temple right?" He nodded, she'd told him that much, and that alone. "For the moment their goal is the same as always, to capture or kill me before I reach the temple. Thing is, there are five temples in this area, so it's not likely they know which one we're heading to, which is why they're laying traps."_

" _Why are they after you in the first place, what do you mean same as always?"_

 _She was quiet. She had told him to be patient, but he answered for her anyway._

" _Let me guess, avatar stuff..."_

 _She nodded, but at least this time she replied._

" _Each time the chakra element ritual takes place, without going into too much detail, I get a bit stronger. And harder for them to take down. It's like a right of passage and I've only got this one left, once the rituals begin there is no way to stop them..."_

" _So they're trying to take you down before that happens. Got it. You're not going to tell me which temple we're heading for, are you?"_

 _More silence for a moment. At least she'd trusted him enough to give a little more information, it would do for now._

" _Well, actually, seeing as you're here, I thought perhaps you could help with that."_

 _Surprised his eye immediately turned to her face, she met his with a wide smile that would've made him blush if his face weren't half hidden._

" _Sure. I've been pretty useless so far so it's the least I can do."_

 _Asuna shook her head._

" _Not entirely useless, a bit slower than Minato sensei maybe. But you're almost as smart as he is so I'd appreciate any help you can give."_

" _Thanks, I think…"_

 _Kakashi heard her scoff, and waited for her to elaborate on what she needed help with exactly. He'd been resting his eyes for the moment, when she didn't speak they opened to see that Asuna was doing the same. Her eyes closed and breathing deeply it looked as if she'd fallen asleep already._

 _He smiled to himself, for now at least they really both needed to rest. Especially if there was another battle ahead of them. As long as he'd known Asuna he could count on one hand the times she had fallen asleep before him. Kakashi could feel his own eyelids grow heavy._

 _With a kind of tenderness he was not so used to, he felt her hand mingle with his in the way she had when they were children. Giving it a gentle squeeze before it fell still and her head began to droop a little. Tentatively he took hold of her hand and shuffled closer so her head was resting on his shoulder, she stirred at the contact._

" _I told you, lean on me for a bit."_

" _Hmm."_

 _Kakashi squeezed her hand back. It was something else he'd never gotten used to, in the dozen or more times she'd snatched his hand to bring him back from his own harmful thoughts over the past year, it was still a foreign warmth to him. RIght now, any warmth was a good thing._

 _The last thing he saw before his eyes closed a final time was his hand and hers locked together._

 _They'd work out a plan tomorrow. This time he'd protect her for sure._


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

With a deep sigh Sakura finally submerged herself into the warm water. It wasn't so late in the evening but it had taken a little time to ensure that the most severe of Asuna's wounds wouldn't be affected or touched by the bath water. In the end she'd joined in just to make sure her patient would be alright, at least that was what she'd told herself.

In truth she had been itching to wash the dirt off ever since they'd gotten off the road. Seeing Asuna's bruised and slim figure made her feel a little self centered.

"Nothing like a warm bath to get rid of the dust and grime after a mission… I can't even imagine what it must feel like after a fifteen year mission."

It was the first chance that Sakura had to actually talk alone with Asuna.

For her initial impression, the avatar seemed lovely. A beautiful and strong lady who had been fighting for a long time, but after seeing that picture Sakura was evermore curious.

"You can say that again."

The shock at learning her relation to Naruto had finally subsided, though Sakura was adamant that there was zero family resemblance. The woman seated next to her was growing in mystery even though Sakura had learned a great deal about her already. For the brief moment she'd studied the old picture of Kakashi's, she'd noticed a few things. Now that she was seeing Asuna without cloaks and armour it made those things more noticeable. She wasn't as malnourished as she'd first appeared, though she could definitely stand to gain a few pounds, Asuna had simply strapped her chest down making her seem even more slim than she was, the rest of her was lithe muscle. It seemed as if she'd always been tiny. Possibly even smaller than Sakura herself, except in the chest area, the thought depressed her for a moment.

"Sorry I'm not the best at making conversation."

Sakura shook her head, she must have been quietly spacing out for a bit.

"No, no not at all. I just figured your ears would be ringing after listening to Naruto babble on all day, you don't have to force yourself on my account."

Asuna chuckled.

"My ears are fine, I'll admit it will take some getting used to. But I owe Naruto fifteen years worth of listening, so one day of it is nothing."

Internally Sakura was placing bets with herself as to when exactly Asuna might lose her patience at the idiot. Lady Tsunade's bad habits were rubbing off on her.

"He doesn't shut up a lot of the time, even when we first became genin. Just says the first thing to pop into his head without a care, but y'know, despite everything that's happened he never changes. I can always count on him…" Sakura smiled as she spoke, Asuna kept quiet but had a warm smile all the same.

Eventually she did speak.

"Everything that's happened huh…"

Sakura looked down glumly at the water before she said anything.

"Yeah, don't suppose Naruto told you too much about Sasuke and what happened with Orochimaru…"

"He told me a little. It was enough to see the truth."

"The truth?"

Asuna nodded.

"You're a bit young to have heard it, but the saying goes; the avatar sees all truths. So I know how important he is to the both of you. You don't have to talk about it if you don't…"

Asuna hadn't even finished the sentence before Sakura began spilling her guts about everything she had come to learn regarding Sasuke and the ritual that could take over his body completely, as well as the details of their last meeting with him. She spoke of the time limit that had them all ambling to gain strength and the extent of the training Naruto had been putting himself through. The fear that had gripped the both of them, though they were doing their best to hide it from each other. Then she even voiced about the guilt she had been feeling in herself at not being able to help. It all came to light without her express permission.

There was something about Asuna that made her easy to talk to. When Sakura reached the end of what she had to say she was almost out of breath. Asuna was watching her face with the kind of look that Naruto gave when he had been thinking hard about something.

"I'm sorry… Lady Asuna, I didn't mean to vent to you like that when you're so injured, you've been through worse… it just decided to come out..."

Asuna shook her head.

"It's fine. Just because you're a shinobi doesn't mean you're not entitled to your own feelings, you are allowed to have them Sakura… Just drop the 'lady' part, you make me feel old y'know."

Asuna then smiled at her in the same way she'd smiled to Kakashi sensei earlier, it was a different kind of smile. One that would even make Sakura blush if it weren't already from the heat of the bath.

"Naruto was right…" Sakura thought out loud.

"Hmm?"

"He said you were easy to talk to, much different than Kakashi sensei anyway, I know you're listening..."

"Hmm. I'm sure your sensei will be thinking up something with that big brain of his. Try and remember the best part of choosing your own path, is that you can always turn around, or take another. And I don't know that Naruto was completely right…"

"What do you mean?"

"Easy to talk to perhaps, but I still have trouble talking back a lot of the time."

Sakura's smile faded.

"You're doing just fine right now, and it's actually helping. Why do you have trouble?"

Asuna scratched her head a little and didn't meet her eyes directly.

"Well, it's probably because I didn't talk to many people when I was younger. I worked alone as a ninja from the start as well. I think some saw it as arrogance, but the truth is, sometimes… even if I know what I want to say, it just doesn't quite make it out of my mouth. My sister was the big talker in the family, a habit her son seems to have picked up."

There was a chuckle or something in her tone that made Sakura feel a strange sadness for the woman.

"Naruto must be rubbing off on you already though, you're talking to me like a pro!"

"I guess you're a little right there. I still haven't been able to say what I want… need to say though."

Sakura tilted her head, confused. A light bulb went off and she half expected to be able to get some kind of confession from her regarding their perverted sensei. She tried to hide the eagerness.

"If you need to say something you should just go for it! Or practise on me if you want, I don't mind. I've vented at you already… it'd be like taking a leaf out of Naruto's book I guess."

"That's a problem, he's been talking all day, so happily, that I couldn't interrupt him even if I wanted to. But it needs to be said now…"

Sakura's earlier excitement flatlined. She had been referring to Naruto, how disappointing.

"If it's that important I'll give you a hand. You'll need to be firm about it, but leave it to me. I think I've kind of got a handle on the knucklehead."

Asuna looked a little taken aback before she smiled back to Sakura.

"Thank you, Sakura. I just might take you up on that… and thank you for letting me vent to you. Guess you're pretty easy to talk to yourself."

"It's just nice having another girl around, with the idiots in this squad having someone who's not stupid or a pervert makes it much easier."

Asuna chuckled and put a hand to her bandaged shoulder.

Sakura watched her with a smile that faded slowly, despite feeling like a weight had been lifted from her own shoulders. It was going to be a long road to recovery for her patient.

Kakashi woke slowly, looking down at his hand as if expecting to see Asuna's still attached to it. Judging by the room around him he'd been out for a little while, there were a few others sleeping scattered about the place.

Silently he slid from the door to the outer deck, his objective was to check the perimeter again, but also he hoped that he could avoid having to talk to anyone. Silently still he rustled up something to eat, his mind still a bit cloudy from sleep, but he didn't have the luxury to relax. Not today, not this mission.

Meandering past the entrance to the bath house he thought he heard laughter and paused for a microsecond. He shook it off before heading back inside, choosing a spot in the room next to where the others were sleeping, just so he could feign reading again. His mood was still amiable, but as the night went on his patience was waning. More than anything he just wanted to get back to the village as quickly as possible. Finish this mission. Finally say what needed to be said.

It might have been a combination of fatigue and relief that caused him to fade in and out of sleep at that point. Book still in hand there were sudden flickering images of the day Asuna had left the village. Rain and explosions. A frantic minute where Guy held the enemy off as they finally caught up with her. He could still remember looking back to his friend in the darkness, Guy's indelible grin and thumbs up still visible.

" _I'll hold them off for five minutes, you go get her! Don't get used to it though, I won't lose to you in love either!"_

Kakashi woke startled. It had been a kind of mix between sleep and awake that he detested, trapped in a cocktail of dreams and memories.

This time he stood and immediately walked out into the fresh air, to wake himself properly. He noted the lack of commotion which probably meant it was late enough for the others to be resting. The light on in the room next door distracted him. With a kind of trepidation he knocked twice before entering by way of the old code, his body well and truly acting of its own accord.

Inside he found Sakura seated at a small table mixing various medicines together. Asuna's katana still resting against the wall, but the avatar was nowhere to be seen. Kakashi stood in the doorway.

"Where's the patient run off to?"

"Oh Kakashi sensei, you're awake. Asuna had something important to tell Naruto so they're in the side garden. I had to convince him to shut up long enough to let her talk though…"

"Something important huh."

He didn't elaborate on his present thoughts, he was sure Naruto could protect her in an attack in any case.

Sakura sighed and stood near the other side of the door, staring out into the gardens direction. Kakashi had been gazing that way himself, able to make it out in the moonlight.

"Yeah, while we were in the baths she said something about needing to apologize to Naruto. She didn't get into much detail but it sounded really important to her. Except he wouldn't stop talking today to give her a chance. So I helped out a little."

There was an almost giggle in the way she'd said that last sentence. Kakashi's eye flickered to her smiling face before fixing itself back out to the night. He was sure he didn't want to know exactly what _help_ the kunoichi had provided. Likely threat of violence or worse.

"How is she doing?"

Sakura's smile faded a little.

"As well as to be expected. There's a lot of older damage on top of her recent injuries so it's going to be a long time before she's regained her strength. I doubt she'll ever make a complete recovery though, I wish there was more I could do…"

Kakashi had been expecting as much, even before she'd left the Leaf, Asuna was already damaged beyond repair. Unsure on what was appropriate in this situation he settled for putting his former student at ease.

"You read the file, right Sakura?"

"Well yeah, of course, what about it?"

"It's probably not for me to say, but… there are some details that had to be kept off the record so-to-speak. If it'll help her recovery in anyway I guess you should know, though Lady Tsunade herself may be the only other living person aware of it."

Sakura's eyes snapped to him.

"I knew it. I even asked Captain Yamato about that…"

"I would expect no less of you, Sakura. Well, the permanent damage you spoke of earlier, had actually occurred before Asuna had even left the village. It would've been about a year or two before she took on that mission, she was captured during an ANBU assignment. I won't go into detail, mostly because I don't know myself, but it ended badly. It took months for Asuna to even be able to move around again, and even then it was only because of Lady Hokage's treatment."

Sakura's made a noise in surprise before her eyes narrowed.

"Even Lady Tsunade herself couldn't fix the damage?"

"That's right. Asuna's lungs were never healed completely, there was no time for her to stop with the Hoshi on her tail… then there was the rest of the damage…"

He trailed off, unable or unwilling to complete the sentence, he wasn't sure which it was. So he continued his original plan, to put Sakura at ease.

"It's admirable that you want to help her more, and as a medical ninja I guess that's to be expected, but don't beat yourself up about it too much. I imagine Asuna, or at least how Asuna used to be, wouldn't want you to worry on her account in any case. Why don't you get some rest while you can, we've still got a ways to go before this mission is over."

He attempted a half hearted smile though Sakura didn't appear to be in the mood.

"Speak for yourself sensei, you just enjoy the hot springs, I can handle the rest."

With a kind of scoff and a scratch of his head he turned to leave the room. He completely forgot sometimes that he wasn't dealing with fledgling genin anymore.

"I think I'll do just that."

That combined with the look in her eye and clenched fist made him feel the need to leave the room as soon as possible.

Whether the springs would successfully distract his already muddled mind was another story. The bath was however a welcome relief to his tired body, so much so that he could feel himself begin to doze off again.

 _Finally, he was close to her. It was like taking two steps forward and one step backward with enemies appearing from the shadows right when he thought he was making progress. But now, he could definitely tell she was close, Pakkun was sure of it too._

" _She's trying to draw the enemy to her, so she's not moving too fast for the moment."_

" _How far Pakkun?"_

 _The mutt sniffed the air for a second._

" _Close, a couple hundred metres at most. The same as two minutes ago, and two minutes before that..."_

 _They had to be at least ten kilometers from the village already, Guy was as enthusiastic as ever._

" _Shut up you two, we're not moving fast enough!"_

 _Kakashi's patience with Guy and Pakkun was non existent now. With every word they spoke a potential enemy could find them and slow them down even further. It was a pity his hunch was correct as a flurry of kunai were thrown from the shadows of the dense forest. Kakashi turned to throw his shuriken and block them only to find Guy already holding off five of the enemy and the knives already thrown off course._

" _Guy!"_

" _Keep going Kakashi, I'll hold them off for five minutes, you just catch up to her. Don't get used to this though, I won't lose to you in love either!"_

 _Thumbs up and grinning, it was the last he saw of his friend as he propelled himself into the shadows as fast as he could._

" _Thanks Guy… I owe you one."_

 _Pakkun ran next to him in silence now. With every breath he felt like his heart was in his throat. Part of him realising that this was the reason for the shinobi principles, there was danger in feeling emotions so keenly in a battle. He'd be sure to suppress them afterwards._

 _But this was a force he could not have quashed right now even if he'd wanted to._

 _The desperation was tangible as he detected her scent himself, along with a lone enemy directly ahead. As he approached he caught sight of them lodging an attack further forward, one that must have been directed at Asuna herself._

 _With more speed that he thought possible he launched himself ahead of the enemy in time to send them flying with a swift kick to the head. He wasn't even sure if it had been man or woman, but he was sure that they wouldn't be getting up again for a while. Even with a volley of kunai thrown at her from behind Asuna didn't stop moving, so Kakashi hurried ahead as well. So close, if he called out to her now she might even hear him._

 _But then so would the enemy._

 _He couldn't let that happen, he had to get to her._

" _Pakkun do you think you can get in front of her?"_

" _On it."_

 _It was all he could think of to get her to stop, immediately Pakkun sped ahead. Against his better judgement his mind began to wander, just what would he say to her when he caught up? That was, if she would even hear him out in the first place. There were a thousand scenarios going through his damned mind at that moment but now was not the time for analysing. It was one of the few times he'd ever wished for his brain to just switch off for a bit, and allow him to focus completely on what was going on around him._

 _Even as he had the thought something whizzed past his head, managing to dodge it only because of the speed he was travelling at, whatever it was exploded in the trees nearby. The blast illuminated the shadow of the figure ahead of him, perhaps a hundred meters away, he'd know her silhouette anywhere._

 _His body began to react of it's own accord, hurling a bomb loaded kunai in the direction of where the last attack had been thrown from. Kakashi heard a satisfying thud as the knife hit it's target, and then there was a shout right before it ignited._

 _This time the explosion revealed her to be closer than before, had she stopped? Had Pakkun reached her?_

 _It only took a few seconds after what seemed like an eternity catching up to her, but suddenly Asuna had indeed stopped. Her back to him, Pakkun stopped a few feet ahead._

 _Now he was able to stop moving as well._

" _Asuna…"_

" _What the hell... are you doing here... Kakashi?"_

 _He was sure he'd never heard her so incandescent, she wouldn't even turn to look at him, her hands balled into fists of anger shaking at her side._

" _Pakkun, think you could go back up Guy?"_

" _Sure thing Kakashi, you'll be alright here?"_

 _It was more of a question than the hound had intended, Kakashi simply nodded as the dog then sped back to aid his friend. Asuna's whole frame was a bit shaky now._

" _It's bad enough you're here, but you dragged Guy into this too?"_

 _She still wouldn't turn and face him._

" _You did knock him out after all."_

 _Kakashi watched her hands relax, he stepped a little closer._

" _You didn't answer me. What are you doing here?" She asked more calmly than before._

 _For the first time he felt the same way Asuna must feel during important conversations, he knew the exact words he needed to say but they just weren't making it from his brain to his lips._

" _I can't let you go, there's something I need to say to you…"_

" _Kashi, don't make this harder than it already is...please. I'm begging you…"_

 _She turned her head slightly and he thought he could see traces of tears rolling down the side of her cheek, though it could have been from the rain. He interrupted her, now he was on a roll, there had been no need to over-analyse what he needed to say after all. He'd only needed to see her face._

 __" _I'm not stopping you, I'm not trying to. There's something you need to know… I should have told you every day before now and didn't..."_

 _An explosion far behind distracted them for a second, she cut him off again._

" _There's nothing to say Kashi, please, it's already more than I can bare…"_

 _Suddenly he was more aware of the enemy around them, stepping closer to her though she still wouldn't face him, standing almost flush behind her._

" _Dammit Asuna, you honestly don't know anything, do you…"He didn't wait for her to answer, the way she kept cutting him off mid sentence meant he had to keep this momentum going. "I figured out a while ago that you'd have to leave some day, just didn't expect it to happen so soon, and if this is my last chance…"_

" _Just stop!" She begged with a raised voice he was unfamiliar with._

 _But Kakashi continued through her plea._

" _You think I can just stop, but I can't, and you know what I never will…."_

" _You don't understand, you'll all die, if I stay with you…"_

 _He was beginning to lose his patience, he needed to see her face again, needed her to recognise what he was trying to tell her._

" _I don't care if I die, don't you get it? I'm telling you…"_

" _Don't… just don't…"_

 _She was openly crying now, and he could tell. It was not what he had expected to happen, it did strange things to his insides, he'd never seen her cry before._

" _I don't know what you're trying to tell me Kakashi, but please… just don't. Once you say it… and you try to bring me home then I'll never be able…"_

 _Another explosion nearer than the one before, there wasn't time. And yet she still hadn't realised it. Words just weren't enough anymore, he had to act fast._

 _With one hand he reached for hers, snatching it and pulling her around into his chest. She made some noise in protest or surprise, but it was muffled soon enough. With his other hand he'd pulled the mask down beneath his chin._

 _He didn't give her time to react._

 _Touching his lips to hers lightly at first the hand that had pulled his mask down made its way to her silky hair, drawing her into him. Asuna's eyes were wide with surprise and she appeared too shocked to even move. The tears had stopped. When she gasped a fraction he seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss, both his hands now making their way from being tangled in her damp hair to her shoulders, to locking around her waist._

 _At that moment he could've been thinking about what a huge gamble he was making, but all that crossed his mind was the feeling of how soft her lips felt on his._

 _And then when he felt her reciprocate, all thought went out the window. Kakashi watched her eyes close, felt her hands splayed against his chest, the delicate way her lips and body melted into his._

 _It began tenderly, his own eyes now closed, Kakashi knew she had surrendered to him. The rain began to fall heavier. Asuna gripped the front of his shirt as his tongue entered her mouth. Their bodies pressed tightly together as if trying to occupy the same space._

 _Kakashi's own body began to react without his express permission. She tasted better than he could have imagined. How close he'd been to giving in to this feeling so many times before. Why hadn't he? Such a waste of time, when they could have been doing this..._

 _It was only a matter of having to pause for air that separated their lips. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing in deeply in an attempt to calm himself. Asuna was doing the same. Her eyes half lidded mirrored his own, though he could still make out the shock on her face._

" _Why?" She whispered, he could feel her breath against his mouth,"I thought you didn't…"_

" _I've been a fool. A colossal one actually. I owe you a thousand apologies for realizing it so late, I just wish there was more time to tell you everything…"_

 _Pulling his hands from her body he gently held her own hands in his, placing them against the left side of his chest and holding them there. Their bodies still flush together, foreheads still touching. He needed her to feel the beat of his heart._

" _This… everything that's left of it, belongs to you. Always…"_

 _Asuna's eyes widened in recognition. Finally._

 _This time she caught Kakashi off guard as her mouth met his with an eagerness he immediately responded to in kind. This was not slow or gentle, this was desperate. Roaming her body now freely he held her firmly against him, almost pushing her with his own against a nearby tree. Asuna was tugging on his hair._

 _If only this moment could last a little longer. There was still so much to say._

 _But time had run out for them._

 _There was a nearer boom and clashing of knives and they forced themselves apart._

" _They're coming…"_

 _She whispered, looking into his eyes with a kind of expression one sees in a terrified mouse. It was the first time he'd ever seen her scared, it made him realize exactly what he needed to do now._

 _For a final time, with more tenderness and care than he thought himself capable of, he touched his lips to hers briefly. Pulling the mask quickly back up over his face and stepping back, he turned in time to deflect a shuriken with the kunai now in his hand._

" _Asuna, you need to get out of here as fast as you can now."_

 _She had been caught off guard by his words again._

" _What do you mean…"_

" _I know I would just get in your way, but there's more of them than the last time, you won't be able to get away like this. I'll hold them off as long as I can, it should give you enough time to…."_

" _Wait, no Kakashi, if you do that you'll…"_

 _This time it was three shuriken he deflected from the shadows._

" _You still don't get it." He interrupted her with a harsher tone than before, "I had to make sure you knew. This heart, this life, belongs to you. It makes sense that I use it for you, always. Even if it only means letting you get away from here safely, so you can finish this fight, it doesn't matter how far apart we are… even if I'm dead… Now you know, so hurry up and go so you can come back."_

 _This time knives and paper bombs came for them, the rain extinguished the fire before they exploded. Despite this the weight suddenly off his shoulders was immense, he'd shown her the truth and given her a reason to keep fighting._

 _It was all he could do._

 _Suddenly he felt her arms wrap around his waist from behind, hugging him tightly, he could feel her chest pressed up against his back._

" _I wish I was better with words…"_

 _He heard her whisper in his ear._

" _Thank you, Kashi…"_

 _Asuna was now placing something in the small satchel on his belt._

" _I'll leave this here, it's very precious to me, so be sure I'll come back for it someday…"_

 _He couldn't see what it was, his eyes were too busy scanning the hundred society ninja that were zoning in on them. Obitio's eye had even started welling up._

" _I won't let anyone through, it's a promise. Now get moving…"_

 _She hesitated in letting go of him. Instead squeezing him tighter._

 _The last words before her warmth left him were so quiet in the din of the nearby explosions he almost thought he'd imagined it… there was no time to ask her to repeat herself._

 _From the darkness in the rain they came out in numbers. These ones must have gotten past Guy or come from another direction._

" _Earth style, mud wall! Let's see you get past this you bastards…"_

 _The wall appeared behind him while he readied his lightning blade, aiming to take as many out as possible. There was no time to turn around and see which way she went. He could still feel the tingling of where her lips had met his. Still feel those soft words ringing in his ears..._


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

"Kakashi… oi Kakashi, are you dead?"

He startled at sudden reality. There were no battles being fought here, he'd simply dozed off in the hot spring. Guy however was a bit too close for comfort but that was the only present danger physically.

"I'm fine, just nodded off a little…"

"I wondered why you weren't saying anything." Guy laughed. "So it turns out I've been talking to myself for twenty minutes!"

Kakashi raked a hand through his damp hair. Pleased in himself that he'd chosen to cover his face at least. Something about the way he looked must have given away the inner turmoil he was currently feeling. Those last words she'd whispered in his ear replaying over and over, dissolving what little was left of his patience.

Also, he hadn't noticed that Guy had been talking to him about something this entire time. His concentration really was awry this evening.

"Oh, sorry, did you say something?"

Guy's expression changed to one of seriousness as he scratched his head.

"Listen, I honestly don't know what's going through that mind of yours, but snap out of it man! It's not like you, since when did you start letting personal feelings get in the way of a mission?"

"It's not...like that Guy. I can't very well stop memories coming back to haunt me can I? It's all just taking its toll…" Kakashi flexed his arms, he'd been in the water long enough.

"You never did tell me what happened that night she left. I know you said not to talk about it, but under these circumstances…"

"I told her some things Guy, that's all you need to know."

"You're seriously going to give me that bull again?"

Kakashi considered his words carefully.

"It wasn't as if we had a lot of time to go over the details, I said what needed to be said, that's all..."

"What needed to be said huh…"

Adjusting himself Kakashi stood and made his way inside to get dressed, unfortunately Guy was also on his heels.

"Speaking of what needs to be said…" Guy spoke while pulling his clothes on, "while on patrol I heard some of the conversation between Asuna and Naruto."

"Mmm, Sakura told me about that. You shouldn't be eavesdropping though..."

Guy continued speaking undeterred.

"Seems to me that she feels unimaginable guilt for having to leave the way she did."

"Yeah."

There was a manner of speaking which Guy sometimes adopted that was more intuitive than Kakashi liked. But if it meant less actual conversation, then he didn't really mind. He wondered what his friend was really getting at. Guilt resurfacing itself. He'd been so selfish that night he'd chased after her, justifying himself that she'd needed to hear it. And Kakashi was still sure at least part of him was right about that.

But he still wouldn't blame her if she never forgave him, for making it so much harder for her to leave and all the rest. He owed her more than a thousand apologies.

Guy couldn't have known, but somehow he'd picked up on it. Damn him. Kakashi dressed quickly to avoid any further talking, probably confirming his guilt more than anything. At least Guy was heading in to sleep anyway.

Glimpsing the clock on the wall he wasn't surprised that it was rapidly approaching midnight. Deciding that he'd probably rested enough for one day, he chose to sneak out the side door of the bath house. Completely avoiding Guy, he slipped out undetected.

The gardens that surrounded the inn were peaceful in the night, with enough moonlight now to illuminate them fully. The stars and crickets were out in full force too, it was a clear and crisp evening and if it weren't for the present mission it would have been an ideal opportunity to relax.

Until he caught sight of something that made his breath catch in his throat.

Seated on a bench in the middle of the garden, staring into the fountain, was Asuna. It had taken a moment to recognize her, mostly because he hadn't expected it, with her hair down and without the bulky cloak.

He must have inadvertently wandered into the side garden where she'd been talking with Naruto. Though she was now sitting well and truly alone.

As Kakashi approached it appeared as if she was in some kind of trance, but more than anything, she seemed peaceful. With a queer smile on her face and hair flowing in the light breeze. A thousand memories came to mind in waves which made him dizzy. He took a good look at her, eyes closed now face turned toward the stars.

His body appeared to be moving of its own free will, taking a seat next to her on the bench and looking up to the sky himself.

"This brings back memories."

She smiled at his words and scoffed a little.

"You can say that again."

Asuna aimed her grin at him and he couldn't suppress one of his own. Kakashi sighed and leaned back into the bench, Asuna still possessed that strange quality which made him feel calm. Too calm. It almost made him forget why they were here in the first place. But he couldn't bring himself to look away from her smiling face at that moment.

"You shouldn't have been out here on your own."

It came out in a tone harsher than he'd intended.

"It's alright. Mini Guy is patrolling the area.

"Mini Guy indeed." Kakashi scoffed.

"It's borderline narcissism. I've seen some strange things in my time but that certainly makes the top five."

With every word she spoke a familiar impatience begun to tug at him. A feeling that had surfaced itself in the past on the rare occasions where she had spoken freely without her usual reticence. Every time she had opened her mouth he'd wanted to silence her with his own lips.

 _Patience._ There was still a lot he needed to apologize for yet. Even then she may not want anything to do with him. For now he'd continue the conversation if it made her happy.

"I wondered if that would get a reaction. You should see the kid fight, it's eerie."

"You might've warned me that there was a 'bushier brows' y'know."

For a microsecond she made the pouty face he remembered from their much younger days. He almost laughed out loud.

"I considered it, but forgive me, I don't get many amusements in my old age."

Kakashi half expected her to elbow him in the ribcage like she used to, but he noted that he was sitting next to her injured side. Instead she just laughed.

"You've always been an old man in spirit, Kashi."

He scratched his head and smiled, the old nickname had resurfaced.

In the silence that followed Kakashi continued to study Asuna's features, reacquainting himself with the way her eyes changed as she smiled. Though only visible by the moonlight he could still make it out. A deep sigh escaped him.

"I've missed this."

The thought escaped his lips before he had time to check it, but it didn't matter, it was the truth.

"Me too."

Those two little words from her were enough to set his mind at ease, casting away any doubt. It seemed some things really didn't change with time.

"I'm sorry Asuna, I had hoped to get you home and in the village by nightfall. Guess I'm moving like an old man now too."

Again, and as always, her response he did not anticipate.

"I'm already home."

Asuna smiled and slowly brushed her hand against his which was resting on the bench space between them. It was exactly the way she used to long ago, except this time he was no longer the fool who felt superior to all human contact.

Without hesitating, and perhaps even a little greedily, he took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers in a familiar way. There was still a smile on her lips, but her eyes were focussed on her hand locked with his. She sighed before looking back out into the garden.

"How's the shoulder?"

Kakashi wondered if he'd crossed some sort of line in asking the question, one she'd have likely sharply elbowed him for in the past. But surprisingly enough she answered.

"Fine, Sakura did a good job, she's an excellent medic. Not a subtle girl though…"

It did not go unnoticed that she was still a master at changing the subject.

"She's definitely picked up a few...uh, habits from Lady Tsunade. She was able to help you with Naruto I take it?"

Asuna's smile now faded.

"She told you about that huh?"

Kakashi nodded.

"It's a little... difficult to get Naruto to listen sometimes." He had tried to make his voice softer than usual.

"That boy is something alright, even then he wasn't exactly interested in what I had to say, speaking of which…" She hesitated, her whole body tensed, he could feel it in the hand that he was still holding. Asuna turned to look him in the eye. "I owe you the same… You're not the only one moving slow. I'm so sorry Kashi, I went as fast as I could… but it took so much longer than I thought…"

With each pause in her words it was as if she were attempting to hold back some of the heavier emotions that were threatening to spill out. Obviously she had been building up to apologize to him as well as Naruto, it must have been eating away at her for a long time. Asuna held his eye as if trying to communicate with him without words.

Instead of letting her continue, Kakashi wanted immediately to put her at ease. There would be time for this kind of conversation later, at home, after she had healed. And it would be then that he could finally finish what he'd started fifteen years earlier.

He squeezed her hand a little for effect.

"That's enough of that now. You always forget, don't you? You never need to apologize to me."

Without his control his eye flickered to her lips as they crinkled back into the small smile that he sometimes felt she reserved for his eyes only. An unsavoury thought crossed his mind for a second. It was not the time. Any confessions he made to her now would be in poor taste.

"Besides, I think you have perfect timing."

He had always enjoyed it when a rare look of surprise danced across her face, it was just the same even now.

"What do you mean?"

And her smile was growing.

"Well, I'll put it this way, if you'd rushed, you might not have finished the job properly. Call me selfish, but I like it this way much better, now I don't have to let you go again."

Asuna squeezed his hand back.

"Thank you Kashi, I don't think... I'll be going anywhere anymore…"

She sighed before looking back up to the stars. Kakashi's eye was fixed on her face, so peaceful, so angelic, everything he remembered it to be. There was a tiredness about her eyes though that was the only difference.

Kakashi heard something odd behind the wall to the garden and almost reached for a kunai with his other hand. Asuna must've sensed the shift in him.

"It's alright, it's just mini-Guy- Lee was it? He's on his hundredth lap by my count."

They both glanced sideways at each other before sniggering a little.

"It makes me tired just hearing that."

"Is there...anything else I should know before we get back to the Leaf village? Things you've held back for dubious comedic purposes?"

Kakashi almost startled at her words but realized she was referring to the weird student-teacher relationship that had disturbed her earlier and not to his own feelings. He mused on what would be the most troubling change for her, and what he should omit to entertain himself with later.

"Well there is one thing. Not nearly as strange as Guy and Lee I'll admit…"He waited for her to look him in the eye again before he continued. "How do I put this… Lord Third had a monument made in your honour."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, you'll know it when you see it, trust me."The look on her face was priceless, he wished he had a camera. It brought to mind the other reason he wanted to talk to her. "And speaking of trust… there's something I need to return to its rightful owner."

With a slight of hand he withdrew from the pouch attached to his belt the item she had stored in there herself fifteen years ago. It was something Kakashi had seldom removed from that place in all that time, and on one occasion he'd actually locked it away just to be sure it was safe. He knew how much it meant to her.

He held it out for her to take with her other hand. Asuna regarded it for a moment as if she were confused before the grin spread across her face and she took it.

"I was going to wait until we'd gotten you home and safe before giving it back to you, but I guess we can't have you returning to the Leaf village without it, and now's as good a time as any..."

The headband emblazoned with the leaf symbol was back where it belonged. About two days after she'd left, after that night in the rain, Kakashi had finally gotten the nerve up to actually look at what she'd left with him. It hadn't overly surprised him, and having the thing in his possession all this time had been an odd comfort. Like a piece of her was with him always. Though it paled in comparison to the real thing.

"Thank you Kakashi, I knew it would be safe with you."

"Don't mention it. I figured you'd come back for it sooner or later."

She rested the headband in her lap and closed her eyes.

In the ensuing silence Kakashi was painfully aware of the physical connection between them. His eye would inevitably drift from whatever he'd chosen to look at back to their hands intertwined. But the quiet was comfortable, and he knew full well that Asuna was no big talker. There were just so many things left unsaid. It was just lucky he was a patient man, and then there was the fact he hadn't quite worked out exactly what he would say on that particular subject.

For now, it was enough to be sitting next to her, holding her hand and watching her smile. Knowing she was safe. Even if he was a little apprehensive about whatever enemy may be approaching. The sounds of Lee making another lap reassuring him for the moment.

"Is it really necessary for him to keep that up?"

Asuna's question may have been rhetorical but he answered it anyway.

"We received some intel that the Akatsuki might be on the move in the area so we took every measure…"

Asuna smirked a little.

"I was meaning him doing the laps on his hands… but you have a point there too." Kakashi fell silent again, she continued. "Master Jiraiya told me the majority of what he knew when we last spoke. That group even has you worried I see…"

"Yeah. We fought with two of them, it was far too close a call for my liking."

Asuna shifted a little closer, he recognized the movement from long ago. In the days, weeks, she'd taken care of him. She'd shuffle closer and say something quiet in his ear that would make everything seem a little brighter.

"You know what Naruto told me this evening?"

"Hmm? And what would that be?"

She smiled as she spoke.

"Well, after he quite bluntly refused to let me make him a proper apology, he _thanked_ me... And told me that I shouldn't bother myself with the Akatsuki."

"He what?"

"Mmhmm. Seems he's not worried one bit about them, or so he says anyway. The little scamp even forbade me from fighting them, said he'd do enough fighting for the both of us from now on." Kakashi wasn't sure if it made him feel any better but it certainly took his mind out of the present darkness it had fallen into. "I don't know how he got those ideas in his head, and unfortunately he made me promise him I would stay out of it. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Naruto, I'm here if you need me."

That did the trick.

"I like the sound of that."

For a fleeting moment he thought he'd seen a small blush on her cheeks in the moonlight, it pleased him more than it should have. Asuna offered him a meek smile before casting her eye back to the headband still on her lap. When a light breeze brushed past Kakashi caught the scent of sweet apples which seemed to be inextricably coming from her. It did strange things to his insides.

Now that she'd shuffled a little closer it was easier to see the circles underneath her eyes, and how drawn her face had become. Though there were a thousand things he could be speaking to her about at that point it all suddenly seemed less important.

Asuna blinked slowly.

The sound of a sliding door and footsteps caught their attention.

"Lady Asuna, you should be resting…" Sakura appeared rubbing her eyes.

Not quite willing to relinquish his hold of her hand just yet Kakashi stood and offered his other to help her stand up. She sighed before she took it.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her, Sakura. Come on you."

Sakura had an expression on her face that wasn't to be trifled with.

"I know, I know."

Finally letting go of both her hands he stepped back and scratched his head.

"You're meant to be sleeping… if he's bothering you I can take care of him" Sakura came to her side to lead her away, menacingly smacking a fist into her palm.

"It's fine, I was having trouble sleeping anyway."

"Oh, I can help you with that." Sakura smiled.

"You should get some rest, we need to get you home tomorrow."

At his words Asuna met his eye, it was all he could do not to blush.

"Right, I guess so…"

By now Sakura knew enough to guess that Asuna had been through some things that made her slow to trust anyone.

"It's alright, I won't use a sedative or anything. Just trust me."

"Yeah, and you can leave the fighting to us, right?"

He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring thumbs up as the sounds of Lee's next lap filtered through the garden. Asuna's smile widened.

"I guess I promised Naruto as much huh."

Making her way back inside with Sakura, the grin Asuna flashed him was enough to still his heart for a few beats. It was after it had faded that Kakashi recognized the look on her face.

"I'll be here if you need me."

A brief smile in return for his words, and she was out of sight. Leaving Kakashi standing in the garden staring at his hand, still tingling with warmth, and feeling more tired than he had in months. It was a different, heavy kind of weariness that dragged him to the deck outside the rooms they had booked. But that was as far as he got. His back against the wall he slid down until he'd hit solid wood and his eyes were already closed.

Something about knowing that Asuna was asleep on the other side of the wall he was resting against gave him an unexpected feeling of peace that lulled him to an undisturbed sleep.

" _Kakashi!"_

 _It was the second time that particular dream had woken him. The anger in Rin's voice still echoing in his ears. Breathing harshly, clutching his chest it was a struggle just to return his heart rate back to normal. Even then the shaking wouldn't stop. Physically it felt as if someone had replaced his blood with ice water._

 _It was all he could do to sit there, trembling, staring at the hand that had taken his friend's life. He could feel the blood on his palm even now through the tears and the warmth as it had left her body. Kakashi held back bile as he made a dash for the sink._

 _Why wouldn't the blood come off?_

 _Tears freely flowing from both eyes, he considered that never feeling clean again was punishment for failing his friends. As well as the nightmares. Justly deserved._

 _Still he scrubbed it. It had to come off, it had to._

" _It won't wash off…."_

 _Whether it was concentration or sheer desperation, he didn't notice the figure behind him in the darkness. With a shudder he became suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps and a hand wrapped around the wrist he held under the tap._

" _What is it Kashi?"_

 _Turning his head only slightly he replied._

" _It won't… I can't get it clean…"_

 _And he never would. He continued to stare at it, even with Asuna's grip on his wrist he could still feel the blood._

" _What if I try…"_

 _Kakashi startled a little. Delicately she used both her hands, holding his and rubbing the water into it. Asuna did this for a while, eventually his eyes sought out her face. She looked... different. It was then that he realized that she had been gone for a couple months at least, her skin was a little darker, that face of hers remained the same._

 _He wasn't sure when exactly, but she had turned the taps off. She held his hand firmly, reaching for the towel from it's spot and dried them both._

 _But she never let go._

" _Better?"_

 _He couldn't actually see his hand, and couldn't feel anything other than the warmth of hers, so in a word it was a little better. When he stopped staring at the point of contact between them his eyes met hers, he quickly wiped the tears from his face with his other. Why was she doing this? Why was she here? He hadn't even heard her knock, and she always, always, knocked. Hadn't heard her come in… How long had she been back for anyway?_

 _But the questions in his mind faded just as quickly. He still felt sick to his stomach, the nightmare flashing before his eyes again._

" _Come with me…"_

 _Somewhat dragging him out of the room to the sliding doors he half wondered where she could be leading him at this time of night, but he honestly didn't care. Nothing mattered much anymore. It was all pointless._

 _Kakashi was lost in thought enough to barely register actually entering Asuna's room. She wasn't actually pulling him along roughly, it was almost like she was guiding a blind person around the place. As she stopped in the kitchen for something he stared fixedly at their hands joined together. It had been the longest that anyone had ever held his hand for, even RIn. The thought made him feel sick again, but Asuna was not letting go._

 _Paused for a moment while she gathered things one handed, Kakashi took another long look at this strange girl ushering him in the darkness. When she caught his eye, she smiled, but he certainly had nothing to smile about anymore. Possibly ever._

 _There wasn't time to dwell on that miserable thought._

 _They were now moving out to the back garden, through the sliding doors in Asuna's apartment to the veranda that joined his house to hers. Then they stopped._

" _Sit down with me."_

 _Slowly, and awkwardly because she still wasn't letting go of him, he sat on the deck. Next to him Asuna held up a glass of something for him to take._

" _Drink this."_

 _It was an order more than a request. He took it, eyeing the glass suspiciously while watching her take a sip of her own. So it wasn't poison, but he was still dubious of her motives._

 _As shaken as he'd been earlier he hadn't realised exactly how dry this throat was. Maybe she'd just guessed it had been a nightmare, he had all the markers for it after all. Surely she had to have a reason for doing this._

 _Though he was curious there was another darker part of his mind that snuffed out any semblance of his old curious self. It was all he could do just to take care of his most basic needs these days, despite having been on his own most of his life._

" _Drink up Kashi."_

 _Maybe he hadn't been entirely alone._

 _Asuna's gentle reminder that she was still here holding on to him actually made his body respond a little more like it normally did. He shifted the mask down his face and quickly took a draft of the cold liquid. He couldn't be sure if it was iced tea or just plain water but he was certain he'd never tasted anything so refreshing._

 _It happened in an instant, from the moment he'd pulled the mask down his face even just that little bit, it was like he was finally able to breathe again after that horrific dream. Wide eyed he stared at the glass in his hand._

 _Had she known that something so simple could make him feel better?_

 _Face still uncovered there was a gentle breeze that brushed past him and it was like he had been revived after drowning._

 _For the first time in a long while he took the moment to take in the surroundings as they were, moon out in full, the stars, the warmth even in the dead of night. But despite this feeling of being alive, all his thoughts disintegrated into pining for the team mates he'd failed to protect, the ones unable to enjoy these things because of him._

 _The feeling dragged him further down to the point where he was certain it would show on his face. He wouldn't let Asuna see, he could hide it a little while longer at least, she'd seen enough tonight in any case._

 _And he still had no idea what the hell she was doing in the first place. It wasn't as if they were close friends or anything, neighbours yes, comrades even. Kakashi's eyes drifted from her hand still holding tightly onto his to her face. Looking up at the stars with a coy smile, it was hard to believe it was the same girl who'd left for the land of lightning two months ago. It was curious, her hair was out even._

 _Feeling his eyes on her she met his stare with a kind expression. Suddenly he felt unworthy. He'd question why she wasn't saying anything as they sat there observing each other, but Asuna had never been a big talker. He was the last person who deserved any kind of warm hearted concern._

 _But then he remembered all the times when they'd been younger, the hours spent together during the night after either, or both of them, had been unable to get to sleep. Nightmares, bad thoughts, whatever the cause had been they had always both ended up sitting out here on this deck. In his mind it had been mostly for his own benefit, though he'd never said as much to her. He had a feeling she knew though. He'd disguised it as him looking out for her, but she must have known the truth, most of the time it was because he had been unable to escape the nightmares. Just like tonight._

 _In the past she'd never once complained, and on the rare occasion it had been for her own comfort he had always grumbled in one way or another about it. But they had still always ended up in this spot together. Was she reminding him of that?_

 _Another waft of fresh air on his face made him realize that he hadn't pulled the mask back up, glumly he returned the thing back to its original position and stared back at the ground._

 _Still she said nothing._

 _He had never felt more like trash and yet she was still here. Finally he found his voice._

" _Why?"_

 _She sounded surprised a fraction._

" _Huh?"_

" _Why are you… so good to me? I don't… I don't deserve it…"_

 _Suddenly he felt her hand squeezing his far tighter than before, it pulled his attention back to her._

" _Don't_ _ **ever**_ _say that, not to me, understood?"_

 _Her tone was harsher, more determined than he'd heard in awhile. It felt like he was being told off by Kushina for a second. The shock at her words subsided a bit and he was able to watch her face soften as she spoke._

" _As to the why, I don't know if I can explain it all that well but I'll give it a go."_

 _He'd forgotten how much she hated explaining things and just talking in general, he continued to watch her transfixed._

" _I get to do some pretty, well, specialized training… being what I am. A lot of it isn't the kind of training you do with your body, if that makes any sense. Long story short, more recently... I was forced to examine the inner workings of my own heart. And along with big sis Kushina and your father even, what I found there, was you Kakashi…"_

 _He was sure both his eyes were wide at this point._

" _It surprised me a little at first but it made sense at the same time. Apart from Kushina, you're all the family I have left in the world. And she has Minato sensei, she doesn't need me… I know you and I aren't blood or anything, we don't even talk all that much, but you'll always hold a spot here…" She placed a closed fist over her heart. "Never to be removed. So I will always be here…"_

 _She squeezed his hand harder and held it up a bit._

" _...to protect you, even if it's just from nightmares. If that's all I can do for you while I'm around then so be it. I only wish I'd gotten home a bit sooner…"_

 _She trailed off, but to be honest Kakashi was starting to hear a fuzzy white noise as he lost focus on exactly what she was saying. She must have been in the village a little while at least to know what had happened to Rin._

 _Watching her closely as she spoke with a warm smile on her face, Kakashi was unable to identify the feeling he was currently having. It was not something he'd experienced before, or even read about, so there was no name he could put to it._

 _It reminded him of something his father had once told him about women, that they had a special ability to make the men they cared for forget all their troubles. That they possessed a special kind of warmth that brightened the darkness, something he'd seen no proof of in his lifetime, even with Minato sensei and Kushina. Perhaps it was something that could only be felt this way, and not observed through others._

 _It wasn't a declaration of undying love or anything else so sinister that he'd suspected earlier. And it was true for him also, she was family. Part of him wished he could voice that to her, to tell her she wasn't alone in feeling that way, but he just couldn't do it. People who got too close to him had a nasty habit of dying too soon._

 _And then there was the rest of it, he was trash after all, the guilt and failure. He still felt sure he didn't deserve her kindness, but in all the time he'd known her, Asuna had never shown him anything other than kindness._

 _Asuna had stopped talking, she'd been silent for some time, still smiling and watching the stars in the way she did. He cast his eyes downward, realizing he'd been staring at her blankly for a while now. He knew she wasn't waiting for him to reply, she was just being her usual quiet self again. In fact, tonight was the most he'd heard her speak in years possibly. Kakashi just wished he had the right words to say back, to thank her for allowing him to forget the nightmare even if only for a while. It was no small miracle._

 _A tear rolled out of Obito's eye, he brushed it away and shifted his gaze to the hand that he thought he would never get clean again. The one Asuna still had ahold of. The warmth he felt from that hand now was not of blood and death, and all that mattered for the moment was that it stayed that way. For his own sanity._

 _He deserved every ounce of punishment for breaking his promise to be sure, but for now, for this night, he felt the need to be normal again so he could just breathe. To feel warmth and be whole once more._

 _He shifted the hand that she was holding, lacing his fingers with hers before grasping it back tightly. She responded with equal force._

" _Asuna…"_

" _Mmm?"_

 _Still unsure on what to say he settled for his current needs, voicing it quietly._

" _Don't let go."_

 _There was a pause, neither of them moved._

" _Got it."_


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The closer they got to the village the clearer his mind became, it was a relief to say the least.

The road was paved in sunlight, there were no enemies lying in wait, and they were even moving at a more normal pace. That being said Kakashi would only start to feel relaxed once they were safely inside the gates. More in keeping with his usual self, he'd spent the rest of the night before going through various scenarios and strategies in his own mind.

As soon as Asuna had fallen asleep he'd gotten to work, going so far as to re-summon Pakkun to scope out the various trails back to the Leaf Village.

Once the plan was set firmly in his own mind he then discussed it further with Yamato who agreed. In the early hours the two man squad (three if you counted Pakkun) of Sai and Yamato went on ahead to give word to Lady Tsunade. And also to make sure the road was safe.

When they had all woken and prepared at sunrise they had immediately set out. By early afternoon they had actually reached the outskirts of the village. Asuna seemed to be moving much easier than the previous day, though Sakura would occasionally insist on taking short breaks.

The surreal feeling Kakashi had registered yesterday had disappeared, instead it felt completely normal to have Asuna walking beside him again. Almost like she'd never been gone, _almost._ And any moment they did end up treading side by side was short lived so he hadn't actually spoken to her at all since leaving the inn. Leave it to Naruto, and even Guy, to get in his way. But in all honesty he didn't really mind, they were so close to home now.

When they finally came to be standing at the entrance to the village itself he stole a look at her face. Not sure what he had been expecting he was sure she might've smiled in that bright way that she used to, but instead she appeared melancholy to him.

"Right, we're to report straight to Lady Tsunade before we're done."

His words almost fell on deaf ears as Guy was loudly pointed out various things to Asuna that she 'needed' to see. Though she wasn't even paying Guy any attention at this point. Kakashi wondered at the look in her eye, it was one she used to adopt whenever she was somewhere she didn't want to be, but that couldn't be it. His musings were interrupted by Sakura.

"I really should take Lady Asuna straight to the hospital…"

The mention of hospitals caught Asuna's attention, Guy seemed a little forlorn as she blatantly ignored him.

"No, no I'm not so out of shape. I'm fine heading straight to the Hokage."

Now she smiled in that way that was meant to put everyone at ease, but it didn't work so well on Kakashi. Even as they all filed into Lady Tsunade's office her face had returned to that stoic sadness from before. Now even Naruto was beginning to grow cautious.

"Welcome home, avatar Asuna."

"Thank you m'aam."

Tsunade sat with her arms folded and a smile on her face which suggested she'd been able to steal a few swigs of sake while Shizune wasn't looking.

"Good work teams. I must admit, I was expecting at least some kind of trouble on the way, but you all did excellent work…" She paused before talking to Asuna directly. "Now, Asuna, first of all I congratulate you on your successful mission, it can't have been easy. Even for someone as skilled as you... Our next course of action is to have you treated properly at the Leaf hospital, we'll look at filing your report for the mission later, I imagine it will take some time to compile it in any case…"

"Pardon the interruption Lady Tsunade, but I've already prepared my findings…"

As she spoke she began the hand signs for a summoning jutsu.

Placing her palm flat on the desk, in a cloud of smoke a very small cat like creature appeared, sitting on top of a not so small folder. The black and white creature pounced from it before disappearing into smoke, leaving the folder sitting on the desk.

Kakashi stared at it with a raised eyebrow, it was probably as thick as one of the heftier text books he'd read back in the day. Leave it to Asuna, thorough as always. Between Naruto and Lee's exclamations of 'how awesome', Kakashi wondered at her being so prepared, it really did appear as if she were trying to hurry things along. There was still a look about her he couldn't fathom. His eye went back to the dossier on the desk, what he wouldn't give to get a read of it...

"Well well, diligent as always I see. Very well then, everyone else is dismissed. Sakura and I will see to your treatment personally, Asuna."

The others, save Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura all made their way out the door. Asuna didn't waste any time.

"With all due respect, Lady Tsunade, it really isn't necessary. Please don't concern yourself with me…"

"Nonsense! Your stubbornness about hospitals hasn't changed I see, but I've read Sakura's preliminary report, and there is no way this can be avoided. Also, this is a direct order from your Hokage, you _will be treated._ Got it?"

A vein in Tsunade's forehead began to bulge and there was no possible way to argue back with the tone she'd used. Asuna bowed her head a little in defeat.

"As you wish."

"What's the deal Aunty Asuna? You don't like hospitals or something?"

"Don't pester her Naruto! It's none of your business! Don't worry m'Lady, I'll escort Lady Asuna to the hospital personally."

Asuna regarded the exchange with a forced smile, though probably only Kakashi knew that it was forced. The change in her face when the smile was genuine meant that anything less was a dead giveaway. Tsunade sighed and spoke more quietly.

"I can understand you wanting to get home after so long, and my hope is to have you there by the end of the day. But this really is for your own good. Now Sakura, I will meet you both at the hospital directly to start treatment. Naruto, you are to resume training as of tomorrow, so rest up while you can. Dismissed."

There was a general grumble before the Hokage's raised fist made them all move faster. Kakashi turned to leave himself before he was called back.

"Kakashi, a word quickly."

Without realizing it was happening his eye immediately went to Asuna, she gave him a very brief smile which he returned.

"I'll catch you later…"

She nodded back, then she was gone. Kakashi found himself bothered that he was no longer with her, but knowing she was actually here and safe in the village made up for it even if it was only a little.

Tsunade was staring at the file on the desk.

"Do you need something else, Lady Tsunade?"

Her eyes flickered to him for a second before resting back at the thing on the desk.

"I wanted you to know, I've come to a decision regarding the use of Asuna to gain intel on the akatsuki…" His own eye narrowed a fraction. Tsunade continued. "It was never my intention to ship her out as soon as she got back, and even I must admit, she's already done more for this village than any previous avatar…"

She stood up and watched the others meandering their way to the hospital through the window, Naruto visible in the distance walking beside his Aunt.

"So I decided against it. We have plenty of excellent shinobi who are up for the job. Yourself included I might add."

She smiled while Kakashi stood there perplexed.

"That's good to hear, but why are you telling me all of this?"

The smile faded and she turned suddenly serious.

"While I know for a fact that you were against it, there is another more serious reason that under no circumstance can we let Asuna face the Akatsuki. You read Sakura's report I take it?"

He had, it was no different from what she'd spoken to him about, though he might've skimmed it a little. He nodded yes.

"Reading between the lines, from Sakura's early findings, it's going to take a long time for Asuna to recover mentally and physically, but honestly. I don't think she'll ever be a shinobi again."

The words cut deep but another part of him had a dark thought. _Good._ She would never leave again.

"I guess the reason I'm telling you is that, should the Akatsuki somehow get their hands on Naruto, there may be no stopping her. And Kakashi, if she overdoes it, even a little, she'll die." HIs eyes widened. "We can't let either of those things transpire now, can we?"

"No. Of course not, don't worry, I'll keep my eye on Asuna. As always."

This time he offered a kind of half smile, though it was joyless.

"Good. And it's important we keep at it with Naruto's training at full speed so I want you back into it first thing tomorrow, think you can handle that?"

Lady Tsunade tapped him on the shoulder as she made her way out the door. He sighed. There was no foreseeable rest in his future.

"Sure."

 __Asuna sat quietly.

The people around her rushed and hurried, they spoke noisily to each other but didn't pay her any attention. So she waited. Sitting on the bench in the hallway watching everyone go about their business. Waiting.

She was good at waiting. She'd been patient all the while, through the walk to the hospital, the transfusion of more blood into her body and the endless talk of what treatment was to come in the days ahead. All the while Asuna had been biding her time. She'd waited fifteen years, she could wait a little longer. Or so she told herself.

After what seemed an eternity she was called into another room which Sakura had prepared for her. It was something to do with the poison that had entered through her wounds. But Asuna uncharacteristically was not listening completely when Tsunade had been speaking, hell she hadn't even noticed when the Hokage had left.

Everything had slowed for her in a queer way, she was almost at a stand still, paused in time while everyone else carried on around her. It was all she could do not to rush from the room, the hospital, and get to where she needed to go.

 _Patience._

It had been dogging her since entering the gates to the village, this feeling, something she anticipated might happen but hadn't expected to be so forcible. And yet hours earlier she'd been genuinely at ease. It felt as if she were truly losing her mind.

Sakura's procedure was supposed to be painful but she didn't feel a thing throughout. Perhaps she really was going insane. No, she just needed to get out of here, get to where she needed to be. Then it would be fine. Then she could finally, _finally_ rest.

"You alright Lady Asuna? I know you don't like to talk much but…"

"Oh, I'm fine Sakura, really. Thank you for all your trouble. Perhaps I'm just a bit eager to get home."

Asuna attempted to put the girl at ease with a half smile. Sakura returned a genuine one.

"Of course you will be. Well, I'm all finished up for today, you'll need to come back tomorrow though."

"Yes."

The feeling coursing through Asuna at that second was something akin to excitement, if she was capable of ever feeling that emotion again fully, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was just the last of her patience ebbing away. Sakura stood and undid the hair she'd tied up. Asuna saw that as a safe signal for her to start making her way to the door as well. Grabbing her resting katana and returning it to the spot on her back.

The young medic followed her out the door with a smile and walked with her down the corridors. Asuna watched the floor. Not wanting to be recognized just yet, not before she was able to get there….

She almost failed to notice when they had actually left the hospital gate. This feeling was dangerous. Usually she captured every detail, but it seemed she'd hung up that habit as she finished her mission.

 _It was finished._ That's right. She almost smiled.

"Your house is next door to Kakashi sensei's right? I'll walk you there…"

Asuna felt a fleeting pang of panic.

"Oh no dear, there's no need for that."

"It's no trouble, you are my patient after all."

Asuna considered what she should say at that moment. Words were never her speciality. Then she decided against it, instead she would do as Sakura herself had said the night previous, and take a leaf out of Naruto's book.

"Actually, there is something important I need to take care of first, so I won't be heading home just yet. But I'll be just fine, you've done a great job, Sakura."

This time Asuna freely gave her a smile. There was something about the young girl that she liked implicitly, perhaps she'd known her in a past life or something. Truthfully she could only feel good intentions coming from her, and that was a rare thing.

"Oh, okay then. Just try not to overdo it, the sun will be going down soon too. I'll swing by tomorrow to collect you for your treatment, alright?"

Sakura seemed to gauge the situation well, Asuna wanted to be alone while she did this.

"Thank you, I'll see you then."

The girl blushed as she waved and ran off into the distance with a grin. Asuna tried to return it but for a second there had been a sting of jealousy or nostalgia of her youth. She shook her head. It was finally time.

She turned into the breeze and felt its coolness refresh her. It had been a very long time since she'd spent that many hours indoors altogether. And in one of her most hated places to boot. Now she could finally finish this properly.

Asuna thanked her lucky stars that at least her feet knew where to go because the rest of her was flummoxed. It would've taken a second for her to earth map the village again but she wasn't entirely sure she had the energy right now. It was taking every ounce of what she had left just to keep walking. _Just a little further._

So far so good. No one had approached her so far, with the sun setting fast everyone seemed to be heading indoors, thankfully.

Asuna's eyes drifted up as she reached the steps to the gate. Each step she took hurt just a little bit, but it was nothing she couldn't endure for a moment, she was so close. With a great exhale she pushed her tired body through the gate at the top of the stair.

She walked past the rows upon rows of neat and tidy headstones. Knowing exactly where she was going now. Her eye flickered to one headstone that was more well kept than the others, with fresh flowers upon it.

 _Kakashi has been here already._

The thought made her smile for a bit. Old habits die hard it seemed. He was still such a strange boy. No that wasn't right, he was a strange man now.

 _One that kissed you in the rain long ago and held your hand last night._

She shook the thought out of her head, still smiling until she reached where she needed to be. The biggest grave marker. The one that held the masses of casualties from the Nine Tails incident. Oh how she wished she could reverse time so she could've been there. For all the years of wishing the clock would not go back for her.

Asuna sunk to her knees.

In her youth whenever she'd returned home from a mission Kushina had been there to greet her. At least when she could. And if she hadn't been able to then Minato sensei always tried his best to fill in, even if she'd actively despised him for a while.

How stupid she'd been.

The both of them had been so good to her in every way. Both of them helping her from day one without question, and not once could she ever remember thanking them for it. On top of that, she'd left their only son to fend for himself for fifteen years. The guilt was palpable within her. Despite feeling briefly vindicated by Naruto himself, the feeling of guilt would probably always be there on some level.

The words Naruto had rebuked her with for even daring to apologize would stick with her a while. Ironically saying the same thing as his sensei, _you never need to apologize to me._ And then he'd gone so far as to thank her. The boy was certainly something alright.

That thought alone brought the first tear.

"Sis, sensei. I'm sorry it took so long… but I'm home now. Mission accomplished."

What came next was a free fall of tears, like they had been released from a dam. Asuna's mind flashed back to the day she'd returned to the village from a mission to find them both dead. It had been the same desperate urge to find them both, not that they were able to welcome her home anymore. Each subsequent mission had been the same.

Like something was missing and not quite right.

So each time she'd returned to this spot, only to cry her eyes out in front of the grave until there was nothing left. Asuna imagined fifteen years worth was going to take some time.

So she sat. Trying not to think of anything in particular. She eventually tried to imagine what Kushina might have said in this situation but her mind came up blank, it'd been so long since she'd heard her voice that it was getting harder to even just imagine her anymore. That thought alone was depressing enough.

Asuna still couldn't quite get a grip on the fact that she was sitting in the middle of the Leaf village. Perhaps it was because the Third was also gone. It could be that fifteen years was just long enough to warp her brain into madness. The constant running and fighting, the fear...it was hard to believe that it was all over for good. What little time of freedom she'd had travelling home was such a blur of pain so she was still very much unused to the idea.

Kushina would've known exactly what to say to her to make it all better.

"Hey, Aunty Asuna, what're you doing here?"

The voice startled her, standing a little too quickly and jolting one of the old injuries.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, it's me. You okay? You really shouldn't be out so late in your condition."

Asuna hadn't noticed that the sun was almost completely set, an amber hue on the horizon all that remained. There was a smile on his face that put her at ease.

"I'm just fine. Thought I'd report to Lord Fourth that the job was finally done."

It was true, that was one of her intentions, but Naruto didn't need to hear her other reasons for being there. She wanted him to keep smiling for now.

"The Fourth Hokage huh? That's right, he was the one helping you beat those bastards in the beginning. That's so cool…"

His voice trailed off as he looked toward the monument, she found she couldn't lie to her own nephew.

"Also I felt I had to tell your mom that I was home too. She'd have never forgiven me if I'd gone home first before telling her."

Naruto bore an expression she couldn't fathom.

"You haven't been home yet?"

"Well, it took a little longer with Lady Tsunade that I would have liked, then I came straight here. I wanted to come here first actually."

Asuna had to admit she was still unsure of herself when it came to Naruto, though he'd accepted her readily. Just like the others. It was a foreign feeling for her, she'd always been on her own after all. It was hard to see the baby she'd once cared for all grown up as well.

"Sorry for bringing your mom up without warning, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and grinned. It surprised her, but he seemed to be pretty good at doing that.

"No, no it's not that at all. I really like hearing about her, no one has ever told me anything about her before so I'm just not used to it. I've still got about a hundred more things I want to talk to you about, but Sakura has made me promise not to ask you too much at once. I guess I'm a little excited about it y'know."

He grinned. And just like that it was all better.

"Well, Naruto you have my permission to ask me anything you like, whenever you like, and I'll always give you the truth. You have my word, avatar's promise."

Asuna offered him the best smile she could muster. He certainly looked pretty darned pleased, it was about all she could do to make it up to him.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Suddenly she wondered out loud what he was up to.

"Oh yeah, I was looking for Kakashi sensei. Bushy Brows told me he might be here but it's another dead end…"

She ignored the unintentional pun.

"You haven't seen him have you? He's supposed to be training me tomorrow and I don't want him to be late again."

Asuna shook her head no.

"No I haven't sorry. Though he was definitely here."

She cast her eye to the lilies adorning Rin's grave, they were fresh. Naruto followed her eye with a quizzical expression.

"Darnit. He's harder to catch than a fart these days."

Asuna suppressed a laugh, but grinned all the same.

"Hold on a minute, your house is next door to his! Why don't I walk you home? I've got to head that way anyway." Naruto offered her his arm to take. "You must be tired. C'mon let me look after you for a change."

Asuna took it without further argument and together they walked from the cemetery. It wasn't so far to the apartment she used to call home. All the way there Naruto talked about the new jutsu that he was training for.

"Wind change of chakra nature huh."

"Yeah, I've got the first step down now, and I'm really excited for the next one. But stingy Kakashi sensei won't tell me a thing. Not to worry, I'll have it mastered easy as pie!"

"You sure about that? It might not be as simple as the first…"

She spoke from experience. Lots of experience. Naruto sighed.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Aunty….geez."

She giggled.

"I'm kidding, in a way. I'm sure you will master it, but remember I am still the avatar. So I know a thing or two when it comes to elements."

"Oh yeah, that's right I forgot about that. Do you think you could help me with my training?"

"How could I say no to my own nephew? I'll swing by after Sakura's finished sticking me with needles again…"

She almost shuddered at the thought.

"Oh yeah that's right, Sakura is the one treating you. Thanks Aunty! You're the best!"

"Don't mention it, I'd help you all day if I could."

She really was dreading going back to that hospital.

"That bad huh?"

She nodded a little before she spoke.

"It could be worse I guess. We're here by the way, thanks for that Naruto."

Her grin was received with one of his own.

"Anytime! Looks like the lights are out next door though…"

He peered a little through the window to Kakashi's place, it was all she could do not to laugh. Knowing the copy ninja, or at least how he used to be, if he'd found a suitable hiding place he was not going to let on. She half expected him to be hiding inside with the lights off.

"Why don't you try some of the restaurants on the main street Naruto? It's dinnertime after all. You should be having something yourself soon."

"Now that you mention it, I am starving. Hay, why don't you come with me! My treat! Oh wait, I guess you will be wanting to stay home after all this time huh."

He had a point.

"You're right, but how about I cook for you another night? After your training?"

At this he looked excited.

"Awesome, I can't wait! Home cooking is the best. Well, almost, after ichiraku."

Asuna caught herself chuckling, it ceased as she dug out the key to her apartment. The place was likely to be a mess.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to it. You'll let me know what your favourite things are now and I'll make them specially…. The last time I cooked for you it was scrambled eggs and you threw them on the ground…"

She was cut off as Naruto gave her a chaste hug.

"Sounds great, I can't wait. I better go find that old bastard so I can get this training out of the way! I don't want to keep you waiting too long after all."

His words had a way of surprising her utterly. Just like Kushina. He turned to walk away, holding an arm up as goodbye. She called out to his retreating form;

"You sure you just don't want to help me clean up the place?"

His head turned giving her full view of his signature grin.

"Oh, I don't think you'll need to worry about that!"

And he was gone. Whatever he meant was lost on her. But it didn't matter.

Quietly she took the steps up the veranda, looking briefly to the door of the apartment directly across from hers. That was another thing she'd been trying not to think about today truth be known. Only because she feared it would all be too much at once, her mind was not as strong as it once was. Even if she desperately wanted him to hold her again, and repeat the words he'd once said that night in the rain. Unless that had just been a heat of the moment thing about her leaving… but then…

 _Call me selfish, but I don't want to have to let you go again._

He'd said that to her last night. A small smile crossed her face, the feelings were still there after all this time. It was just a matter of getting to know the man he'd become.

Pleased that her mind had actually spun her onto a more positive train of thought for a change she unlocked the door and prepared herself for the mess of dust that lay within. One thing at a time. That would be the only way to bring herself back from that hell of a mission. Naruto was dealt with, she'd visited Kushina, all that remained was this mess and to heal herself.

 _And Kakashi._

She shook that sudden thought away.

Opening the door, darkness greeted her. The sun now gone she flicked the lights and took a deep breath. Expecting to be up another few hours cleaning her muscles were already sore just thinking about it.

What she saw in the light astonished her.

The place was immaculate. As if she'd never left. Down to the correct time on the clock on the wall. She stepped further into the kitchen slowly, stunned. Sitting on the kitchen counter was even a vase of fresh sunflowers. Asuna examined them a little closer, they must have been picked today, or maybe even a couple days ago… How strange…

The door went click as it shut behind her and instantly she felt goosebumps, but not out of fear. The voice instantly answered all questions.

"It was sunflowers that were your favourites, right?"

 _Patience._

The word had run through his mind so many times it had lost all meaning. Thankfully the afternoon had passed easily enough, there were still a few things needing taking care of. His eye would look toward the direction of the hospital every so often, he'd even walked past it once deliberately on his way to the usual spots.

Kakashi wondered how long it was going to take. It didn't matter, time for once was on their side, there was no need to rush, she wasn't going anywhere. It was something he had to keep reminding himself, not believing it was actually the truth half the time.

The usual spots, being Rin's resting place and the monument inscribed with Obito's name, were just as he'd left them. Placing fresh flowers by Rin he told her briefly of the last mission before making his way home again. Stopping only to pick up supplies, still it was only mid afternoon by the time he reached his apartment.

Quickly he opened up Asuna's place to deliver the groceries he'd picked up, placing the flowers in a vase of water.

With a sigh he stood in that kitchen for a while. Listening to the crickets through the window he'd opened and the ticking of the clock on the wall. How many times had that ticking lulled him to sleep in this room.

He crossed the veranda back to his own home, smaller than hers, and far more sparse. To pass the time he showered, changed, lay on his bed as the sun went down. Staring at the ceiling, needing rest but his mind would not allow it. It had been a very long week. He closed his eyes.

 _Patience._

Almost believing he was having some kind of pleasant dream, he heard it, Asuna's laugh. But then there was the definite sound of Naruto's voice, and she was laughing again. He enjoyed the sound so much it made him smile, her laugh was a rare commodity.

It was dark now, but Naruto was probably still looking for him.

Suddenly he was pleased in himself that he'd kept moving for most of the day and chosen not to turn any of the lights on. But then his voice faded away.

Slowly Kakashi made his way downstairs and quietly opened his own door in time to see her turn the key in the lock of hers. He'd seen her do this probably a hundred times in the past, but today it was the most pleasing thing he'd caught sight of in a while.

His feet were moving of their own accord, following her, watching her every move. Asuna flicked the lights on and examined the flowers he'd left on the counter. Just as he thought she would.

How easy it would be, to slide up and hold her in his arms.

 _Patience._

With a kind of smooth skill he thought might've abandoned him in this situation he clicked the front door shut behind him. His eyes never leaving her small frame.

"It was sunflowers that were your favourites, right?"

Asuna wasn't facing him but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yes, they still are. You have a very good memory, I don't ever remember telling you that…"

She turned as he stepped closer toward her.

"Call it an educated guess."

Guess work had nothing to do with it. Kakashi had once overheard her tell Kushina that detail while he had been placed on her guard duty. Standing close to each other and in the light now he could see the deep set blue of her eyes as they met his, just like they used to.

"You did all this too?"

Asuna looked around the room before meeting his eye again. He gave a little thought to his answer.

"Yup, you did give me a key after all. Didn't want you coming back to mountains of dust, and I figured you'd be pretty tired when you got in. It wasn't any trouble..."

Kakashi was caught completely off guard as she suddenly stepped closer and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle. The embrace had surprised him but thankfully his body responded to her touch. Lightly holding her back, terrified of hurting any of her injuries, he attempted to touch her no further.

"Thank you…"

She sighed deeply after she spoke. His mind was racing, feeling the warmth of her body slowly calmed him. Part of him glad he'd changed out of his flak jacket so he could feel that warmth a little better.

"You're most welcome."

For a small measure of time they both stood there just holding onto each other, he drank in every second, her head resting on his collarbone. For a moment he closed his eyes after savouring the look of contentment on her face. When she unlocked her arms he opened them and relinquished his hold of her.

She stepped back and he smiled.

Asuna reached behind her back and unhooked the heavy katana that was still strapped to it. Out of some reflex he didn't quite understand yet, Kakashi relieved her of the weapon and put it on it's waiting stand.

She eyed him queerly but smiled.

"You know Naruto is looking for you…"

She undid the bulky cloak as she spoke, taking more care with her left side.

"Is that so, such a shame I must have just missed him."

Asuna raised an eyebrow at him as he stepped closer, holding out an arm to take the cloak from her. He couldn't help his open eye from darting down to what she was wearing. If he'd opened his left sharingan eye he might've noted the way she was almost holding her breath as he regarded her. Kakashi turned and hung the cloak on one of the hooks by the door.

Asuna was wearing one of the night shirts from the hospital and the tight black pants she'd worn when they'd stumbled into her. Suddenly something struck him as odd.

"You travel awfully light these days…"

The more he thought of it he realized she'd had nothing with her when they'd found her as well.

"Everything I had on me was destroyed in that last fight, it was just dumb luck that I'd given my reported findings to Kyros at the last minute… There's hopefully something in the wardrobe that still fits."

She looked a tad downcast when he spun round, he scratched his head. The way she held herself and the look in her eye lead him to believe that she was beyond exhausted. Probably both physically and mentally. There was something that Lady Tsunade had said that played on him a bit at that moment.

 _I'm also concerned about her state of mind..._

From the direction she'd come home, and having Naruto with her, Kakashi took another educated guess that she'd first visited the cemetery. Any confessions he made to her now would be in poor taste, in no way did he wish to overtax her already weary mind.

"Well, I picked up a few things you would need, but I can't say I thought of that."  
He attempted a smile to put her at ease, she smirked back.

"You must be slipping, Kashi, you used to think of everything right?"

He scoffed at the suggestion. For a moment he caught himself ogling her from where he stood, it almost made him shake his head. Stepping closer to her he instinctively reached a hand out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. When he made to withdraw she grabbed his hand and held it lightly.

"Not everything I assure you…"

Their eyes were locked, what he wouldn't give to bridge the gap between them… at least his patience was holding out. Being able to see her again, touch her like this, was enough. Especially when he considered that for a time he didn't believe he'd have another opportunity. The deep bruises he had seen around her wrists reminded him of that fact.

Kakashi was mindful that he'd been granted another chance, there was no way he was going to mess it up this time. Asuna smiled.

"Why don't you take a seat? I'll go… assess the damage as it were, then I'll make us some tea?"

She said the last part like a question. It was a quirk that she'd always spoken with, largely in part due to Kushina's influence. He nodded and she wandered into the bedroom, only letting go of his hand at the last moment, lingering.

Taking a seat in the usual spot on the sofa it made the same squeak that it had done in his youth. How many hours had he sat in this exact spot waiting on her, he couldn't count them if he tried. It was usually him waiting for her to cook something, or show him something she'd made. In later years, particularly after she'd been injured, he'd sat here just waiting for her to wake up, making sure she was still breathing...

Kakashi sighed. Old habits really were hard to shake. At least this time he wasn't going to make her wait for him to realize the truth.

A noise and a mumble of a cuss word coming from the bedroom distracted him from his thoughts.

"You alright in there?"

There was another loud banging noise before the door slid open just a little to reveal her embarrassed face.

"I'm fine. Just working out the logistics…"

He raised an eyebrow at her while she laughed nervously and disappeared back into the room. Whether it was on purpose or not he couldn't tell, but she'd left the door slightly ajar. Curiosity was a terrible thing. Not that he could see inside, just the shadows of her movements.

"I'm having some serious deja vu here…"

He heard her snigger as she finally opened the door. Wearing a snug looking long sleeved black shirt and pants she at least looked a little more like herself, or at least the version he remembered. Though she didn't appear entirely comfortable.

"Well at least the bottom half hasn't changed too dramatically…"

She'd said it pretty quietly but Kakashi might've turned a shade of red.

"Any luck then?"

"Sort of. I'll have to go clothes shopping it seems…"

Seeing her up close and in the light it was certainly obvious to him now that she was more _developed_ in certain areas, more womanlike. He forgot sometimes just how young she had been when she left. With a light blush on her cheeks she pulled her sleeves down and went into the kitchen.

Kakashi didn't hide that he was watching her every move.

It still felt remotely dreamlike, seeing her in this house again. Asuna held herself carefully as if trying to hide her injuries from him, but there was a falter in her step he recognized. Her eyes were drooping, it made him wonder just how long she could keep this up before she dropped.

Asuna didn't even notice him stand as she filled the kettle, Kakashi stepped into the kitchen standing behind her. She was almost swaying now, the concern showing on his face as he moved directly flush behind her. His hand taking the handle of the kettle overtop of hers. She flinched a little before looking up at his face. Had she always been this short? He studied her tired eyes as he looked down seeing a flicker of something else in them. Something darker. His insides churned with wanting.

Without watching what he was doing he guided her hand and the kettle back to it's spot on the stove top and switched it on before taking her hand back in his and slowly turning her into him.

Asuna blinked slowly but still met his gaze, her eyes half lidded. With a small sigh she ran her other hand up the side of his cheek and lightly traced the scar over his left eye with her thumb. The action, however brief, sending a surge like an electrical current through his blood. When her hand dropped it rested on his chest. Kakashi not noticing he'd been physically keeping her in place between himself and the kitchen counter, boxing her in with his body and one hand resting on the benchtop by her waist.

But his mind wasn't exactly working on any logical train of thought the way she was pinned against him. The part of his brain that cared for her wellbeing more than his own needs made sure to avoid any of the obvious injuries. Everything became kind of hazy as his other hand made its way into her hair.

With a kind of mitigating sigh he rested his forehead against hers. Admitting defeat to himself in a way. Suddenly he was acutely aware of the way her body was leaning into his, using him as support. Drinking in every second, watching her eyes grow heavier as she tried to maintain eye contact with him. The way the bridge of her nose casually brushed against his in a way that made him want to tear the mask from his own face. Even through the cloth he could feel her breath against his lips.

Her eyes flickered shut.

All concept of time was lost to Kakashi at that point. It was as if her tiredness was seeping into his own body as she melted into him. But he damn well didn't want to move. There was a kind of white noise rushing in his ears combined with the ticking of the clock on the wall and the crickets outside it was like some strange form of lullaby.

Maybe they were just both tired.

The sound of the kettle's whistle forced his eye open, though he wasn't aware of closing them.

"Go sit, I'll bring it over."

His voice sounded huskier than usual, wrenching his body away from hers reluctantly. When there was no argument from her, and she ran her hand up his bicep on her way out of the kitchen, Kakashi was sure...

She had reached her limit.

He heard the squeak of the couch again as he rifled through the kitchen cupboard and brewed the tea.

"You should really eat something too…"

Vaguely he discerned a grumble from Asuna's direction and he smiled. This conversation had happened in reverse about a hundred times, and she'd always forced him to eat something in the end.

Slowly he brought both cups over to the coffee table and set them down. Watching her all the while, her head lolled to one side resting against the back of the couch. Sound asleep.

He figured as much. She had to have been running on fumes alone.

There was no way to know for sure, but he guessed she'd purposely sat in the middle of the sofa. Knowing he would take his usual spot. With a sigh he withdrew the blanket he knew lived underneath the couch, shaking off some of the dust. Internally he debated whether he should move her to the bedroom, wanting her to be comfortable but also unwilling to let her out of his sight. And he was worried about hurting her also, that was a good enough excuse to keep her here.

With great care he draped the blanket around her, savouring the look of peace on her face. The feeling of weariness within him was growing as well, rubbing his eye as if to push the tiredness out, Kakashi sat carefully next to her. Resting his own head back on the couch and looking up at the ceiling. There was a gentle warmth radiating from Asuna, along with the ticking of the clock and the usual dull ache of his muscles after a mission, it was all he could do to keep his eye open.

When Asuna sighed in her sleep he turned slightly to get a look at her. Pleased he could now gaze at her with entire impunity, Kakashi gingerly tucked the golden red hair behind her ear before slowly pulling her so she leant against his shoulder. It looked mildly more comfortable with no risk to damaging that shoulder of hers, luckily it didn't wake her either. She instinctively nuzzled into him further, he wore a tired smile and breathed in the scent of her deeply. The warmth of her breath through his shirt, against his collarbone sent surges through his whole body.

It had been a _very_ long time since he had been this comfortable.

Part of him knew he should get up and turn the lights off, but sleep came swiftly for a change, it was not something that usually happened when he was off duty. Lulled by the steady breathing of the woman in his arms.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 _It was hard to believe it had been three weeks since the mission began. In saying that it would have been finished two weeks ago if it weren't for encountering the enemy at every turn, slowing them down intolerably._

 _Kakashi had taken care and consideration into formulating a plan to get them both to the earth temple safely. Asuna agreeing that whichever temple they chose needed to be as far from any towns or villages as possible. The one they selected being the furthest from the Leaf village, and also the one Asuna predicted to be the hardest for the enemy to infiltrate._

 _The plan had come into place the day after the first run in with the Hoshi. At first they'd travelled from that cave swiftly, but hiding their movements had slowed them down considerably. Then there were the few times that they had been followed or watched. Travelling with Asuna for this long was an eye opener for Kakashi. She had ways of hiding and disguising any signs of their activities which left him envious of her elemental abilities. But there was something else going on which had him a little vexed._

 _He wasn't sure when exactly it had started to happen, it had been so gradual that he couldn't have pinpointed it if he tried. But at some point, he had started to notice that he was really enjoying this assignment. It seemed like a ridiculous notion at first, but travelling with her, even through the dangerous parts, it all seemed like he belonged. It was a feeling he'd been numb to since losing both Rin and Obito. A feeling he had tried to substitute with his Anbu assignments and failed._

 _All the same it bothered him to some degree. It was not the kind of thing he wanted to be vulnerable to whilst on a mission. So very, un-ninja like. It was dangerous. But since he'd become aware of it, and while they had been moving safely for a few days, it was all he could think of. Magnified by the amount of time he'd spent sitting and waiting with only his thoughts to occupy himself. It was not good practise for a shinobi in any case._

 _Currently they found themselves by a riverside bathed in moonlight, the haze on the horizon indicating they were close to a town. Asuna hadn't told him directly but he quickly realized she travelled in such a way to purposely avoid any populated areas. It seemed all her actions were to protect any persons she could. That was her ninja way. Kakashi almost couldn't believe it had taken all this time for him to realize it, but then again, he'd never spent this much time altogether with her. And she had never been a big talker to begin with._

 _Washing her face in the river Kakashi watched on, sitting on the grass a few meters behind. Asuna had a way of manipulating water around her which had him transfixed. He'd never been particularly interested in her bending before now, it was a self centredness he was suddenly embarrassed for. But there was something mesmerizing about it, and in a word, beautiful. He shook his head, making a mental note to take a book with him next time he got sent on a mission like this, and to work better at quashing these sorts of feelings whatever they were. He thought he had been pretty good at it up to now._

 _But he couldn't tear his eye from her._

 _There seemed to be some other feeling steadily growing inside of him, one he didn't want to name. As if clarifying that feeling, even just to himself, would make it impossible to subdue. It had already reached an alarming level by his standards._

 _Asuna turned, meeting his eye and smiling in a way that caused him to blush._

 _The more time he spent with her the more he noticed, she was beautiful. In more ways than one. It was certainly something he'd been aware of before, but not to this degree. Perhaps it was just the way Guy was always talking about it that had bored him enough not to notice properly. But she was definitely exceptional. What he wouldn't give to stay with her, travelling like this for a while longer._

 _What the hell was he thinking? He tore his eyes back to the low light on the horizon, hearing the faintest hum of music. Trying desperately to distract himself._

" _There must be some kind of festival going on…"_

 _Asuna sat herself down next to him. All the while these past three weeks she had been mindful to give him space when she could, though they had been moving almost constantly so there hadn't been much time for rest._

 _He tried to look everywhere but directly at her._

" _Yeah sounds like it."_

 _But if he was to be stuck with anyone on a mission for this long, he was glad it was her. Working closely with her was almost too easy. Without realizing it he'd begun to actively look forward to moments like these where he could just sit with her, quietly and comfortably._

" _We don't have to start moving for a little while right?"_

 _She'd said it in the way of a question which surprised him._

" _No, we have a bit of time I guess. Why's that?"_

 _She stood and stretched._

" _You rest up, I've got some training I should probably get in before we reach the temple."_

 _The thought of training in this situation made him raise an eyebrow. But she wouldn't be doing it if it weren't important._

" _Let me guess, this is to do with the ritual…"_

 _Looking back over her shoulder Asuna smiled and nodded. Preferring not to use words, he hadn't exactly expected her to come straight out with it. So he lay back on the grass and listened to the river, his eye watching the stars but inevitably drifting back to her form._

 _Even in Anbu gear she managed to captivate him. He shook his head somewhat violently and went back to stargazing. This was distracting now, it needed to stop. Perhaps it was only worse tonight because of the moonlight and music… It was probably the most relaxing setting they'd found themselves in._

 _There were other noises reaching his ears now to rein his thoughts in._

 _It appeared as if Asuna's training involved some kind of Earth style. He watched her concentrating, standing in some form of stance he was not familiar with._

 _A six foot pillar of earth rose from the ground in front of her, he eyed it curiously. It still irked him when she didn't need to use hand signs. The pillar proceeded to crumble and shoot rocks toward her like bullets. He sat up promptly to watch her block them all in the same stance._

 _Then he watched her do it again, and again. Repeating the process, creating a new pillar from stone or earth each time. It got to a stage where she had three pillars around her pummelling her with projectiles._

 _While part of him was ogling the way her body moved, the rational part of his mind was more curious than ever as to what her purpose was. There was a look in her eye of frustration, or at least that's what he thought it was._

 _Kakashi stood with a sigh brushing the grass from his clothes._

" _What exactly is it you're trying to do?"_

 _Asuna paused as she was about to create more pillars. She eyed him incredulously but didn't answer right away._

" _Well, I've got to prepare for the part of the ritual where I use earthbending. My natural affinity is toward wind so I have a little difficulty getting the earth to move in the way I want it to."_

 _Kakashi tilted his head to the side. She sighed before continuing._

" _Okay, for example, if I were to block an attack using an element…"She made some kind of gesture with her hand and a rock flew at her from a distance. "My natural instinct is to use air and wind, it's quicker, for me anyway… It sometimes even happens without me realizing."_

 _Barely moving her fingers she conjured up a gust of air that sent the incoming rock flying into the water nearby. Kakashi glanced at the ripples in the river, but he was still entranced by the way she was moving. Her voice even had him engrossed._

" _Long story short, when the earth priests test my use of the element they will be coming at me with earth style, and they don't take these things lightly… So I've been trying to change my natural instinct."_

" _Let me guess, you can only use earth for the earth ritual, right?"_

 _She nodded in reply._

" _I might be able to help you with that you know."_

 _Asuna's eyes widened a fraction at his words. He wasn't even sure he knew what he was saying, but the desire to lessen the burden on her was very real._

" _I can use earth style, not quite like you do, I still need hand signs. But maybe fighting an actual opponent would be better than changing the landscape around here, hmm?"_

 _He gestured to the rubble around them. Asuna raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Again._

" _We've got a little time. Besides, I can't stand the idea of getting you all the way to that temple safely if you're just going to flunk the test."_

 _At this she scoffed and he smirked a little._

" _Alright then. If you're game…"_

 _It was a decision he would later probably regret but for now it piqued his curiosity. He'd never sparred with Asuna before. Not ever. Kakashi nodded, then moved to stand at a reasonable distance from her._

" _Ready?"_

 _He shifted the cloth of his headband from his left eye. Something was telling him he would be needing it for this round. Maybe he hadn't fought against her before, but he'd definitely been present when she'd kicked some asses._

 _Asuna nodded._

 _He would need to be faster than her to get the upper hand. Even if this match wasn't about winning or losing he didn't want to look bad in front of her._

" _Earth style- mud wave!"_

 _Kakashi kept his eye on her as she jumped, sure in himself that it was completely unnatural for her to be able to leap so high so quickly. Asuna came down fast behind him, crashing into the ground and making greater ripples in the earth than his jutsu. The dust also provided good cover for her, but it wasn't good enough to escape his eye. It would've caught him off guard but he was already prepared with the next move. All the same he fumbled a bit with his balance._

" _Thought you were meant to be helping me?"_

 _Her voice right behind his ear, and the blunt side of the kunai she held at his throat, sent a jolt through his spine. She was good. But not good enough this time._

" _And I thought you were meant to only be using earth style huh?"_

 _That jump into the air had to have been wind style or something else, he was sure of it. He heard her snigger in reply._

 _That was the point he put the next part of the plan into action. Asuna had not suspected that it had been a clone she'd cornered all along, the real him appearing up from the earth just behind her. Kunai ready, he held it to her throat and released the clone, it crumbled into mud before her._

 _Standing this close behind her, Kakashi thought he had won the upper hand._

" _You used airbending for that jump earlier, didn't you?"_

 _He had thought wrong._

 _Three earth clones of Asuna appeared behind him and at his sides from the ground, all holding kunai to his throat._

" _Great minds think alike…" he mumbled._

 _The sound of her laugh, even just a little bit, made him feel slightly odd. Even if it was at his expense, the sound was something he hadn't heard in so long it made him instantly happy in himself and too light headed._

" _Not quite. You gave me the idea actually, I used that first jutsu of yours to shoot myself up in the air, so I used the earth to propel myself higher, more or less."_

 _Clever. She'd been able to counter the issues she was having with the earth not moving quick enough for her by making it move her faster to dodge._

" _Let me guess, you did the clones after you landed."_

" _Yup."_

 _All four Asuna's wore the same smile._

 _Kakashi let out a sigh and held his arms up in defeat. Immediately all of the clones disappeared, leaving the real Asuna just in front of him, she faced him still smiling._

 _He had forgotten she didn't need to use hand signs to make clones._

" _Well at least I gave you one idea I suppose. Minato sensei is probably better for helping you with this kind of training I guess, he's not going to be happy with me if you do flunk this."_

 _At the mention of Lord Fourth her smile instantly disappeared. Asuna was perhaps even better than he was at hiding emotions from others, even without a mask. But he'd known her long enough to recognize it. It was the same expression she bore as a child whenever Kushina would leave on a mission._

 _He suddenly realized perhaps it was something else that had saddened her._

" _Not that I think you'll flunk it of course…"_

 _Asuna looked down at the ground between them._

" _Well actually, Minato sensei usually leaves me to do this stuff on my own. He's more concerned with getting there safely, and quickly… You're the first person who's wanted to help."_

 _When she looked up and met his eye it was with a kind of smile he would not forget anytime soon. It actively made his heart skip a beat. It was the kind of smile that would keep him up for the rest of the night, the kind he didn't feel worthy to receive._

" _Anytime…"_

 _Maybe, even if he helped her just a little bit, maybe it was enough to make him deserving of it._

" _Thanks Kashi."_

 _She held up her hand to make the unison sign, which he admitted he'd completely forgotten about in all the excitement._

" _Don't mention it… but seriously, don't mention it. I have a reputation to keep."_

 _His hand met with hers and she laughed again, this time he smiled back._

 _Asuna let go of the finger hold and stretched a bit, Kakashi casting a quick glance toward the village nearby. It was really starting to sound like a festival now. With a sigh and a scratch of his head he thought of all the people enjoying themselves with warm food and music. Perhaps a little envious after three weeks of nothing but food pills and fear of the nameless enemy that had been following them._

 _There would be plenty of time to relax after this mission was over, but that was just it, he didn't want it to be over. Not now in any case as he watched Asuna wash some of the dirt off from their tussle in the river, if it weren't for the mission he might've asked her to accompany him to that kind of festival just to see her smile again, like she had before._

 _If he was lucky, he might actually have that chance once this was finished. As long as he didn't fail._

 _That was the thought that strengthened his resolve. Once this was done, he could ask her out like that, and then he wouldn't have to leave her. And for now it meant he didn't need to lament about the strange feelings he was having about the mission ending._

 _Sometime during their fight Kakashi had figured out a few things. The first being that since he'd been on plenty of long missions like this before, the only different factor, was Asuna. She was the only unique thing about it, and as far as he could tell, she was the only reason he had been enjoying himself so much._

" _You hungry?"_

 _She called from the riverside, looking back to meet his eye._

" _I guess."_

 _There was something about her that still beguiled him, as it had in their much younger days._

" _Right."_

 _She looked back into the river and moved her arms in a rhythmic way, he watched her bend some of the water into streams of it in mid air. It was the kind of thing he would call a show off move, but she didn't operate in any other way. She could only use elemental jutsu after all._

 _With a kind of fascination he viewed the water as it flew past him, it was then that he spied the masses of fish that were inside of it. His eye went back to her, Kakashi had started to like it when she used waterbending best, it made her body move in a hypnotic dance which appealed to him._

 _The fish began to flop around on the grass before going semi still._

" _What are you up to?"_

 _She walked up to stand beside him._

" _What does it look like? Dinner. I figure with all that noise and light over there we may as well have something warm to eat…"_

 _The second thing Kakashi had come to realize, it was a good thing that Asuna didn't talk so much. Because every time she'd opened her damned mouth tonight he'd been filled with that feeling that he didn't want to name. Though he all of a sudden knew exactly what it was without question…_

 _There was a massive boom as the first firework was let off in the nearby village. They both turned and looked skyward. The explosions began to follow one after another, lighting up the entire sky, accompanied with the moon it gave everything a surreal glow to it. Kakashi's eyes drifted, his sharingan still uncovered, to her face. Watching the reflection of the lights in her eyes, to her lips. And there was the rub…_

 _Any time she opened that mouth, or her pursed her lips in anyway, he'd wanted to capture them with his own. That was the growing feeling inside of him. Wanting to touch her._

 _He shook his head, he had to keep reminding himself that he didn't deserve her yet, or possibly ever. And she may not want to be with him to begin with. He sighed, the booming still ringing in his ears as the display continued._

 _And then he felt it. Just a little warmth brushing against his hand. He didn't need to look down to know it was her, it could've been by accident but Kakashi wasn't so sure. Asuna had a way of knowing exactly what kind of touch to give, or thing to say, to make him feel better. Like she was able to read his mind, he sorely hoped that wasn't the case. This time it almost had the opposite effect. He reciprocated, touching the back of his hand to hers lightly and holding it there. His fingers might have mingled with hers just a little._

 _The feeling was growing, and this kind of touch was beginning to not be enough for him._

 _Kakashi didn't notice when the fireworks stopped, but he was almost glad for it as Asuna moved off to deal to all the fish she'd 'caught' for them. She set up one of her weird fires and promptly told him to sit._

 _He sat quietly the rest of that night, almost content in just watching her. At least if he was quiet then she would keep her mouth shut too, which was safer for her sake._

 _Asuna extinguished the fire some time after they'd eaten, Kakashi lay back on the grass with another sigh, knowing full well that they would have to get moving soon. Asuna lay down next to him. They stayed there watching the stars for a while, or so he thought._

 _When Kakashi turned his head a fraction to look at Asuna it perturbed him to find her eyes staring right into his. She had an expression on her face he'd come to know as concern, though it was only a slight way in which her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. Only noticeable to him because he'd seen it so often when she had been taking care of him._

 _The disturbance within his own mind must have been starting to show outwardly._

" _You alright?"_

 _Asuna asked it quietly and he considered his answer. She very rarely asked him anything like that directly, but they were on an unclassified mission after all. Knowing it was futile to lie with her abilities he settled for a vague version of the truth._

" _Just have a weird feeling is all."_

 _He tried to put her at ease with a smile, she wasn't buying it._

" _Good feeling or bad feeling?"_

 _At this he had to actually think about the answer. At the moment it was neither good nor bad, it just simply was something he appeared to be unable to stop. And it had the potential to be good or bad depending on the way things went. It also had the potential to grow into something out of his control, and he hated that idea._

 _It was such a simple question but there was no easy answer for it. He looked back up to the stars as if the answers might be up there somewhere._

" _Honestly, I can't say. It could be either or both."_

" _I see." Asuna went back to stargazing herself and he was relieved for the momentary silence. "What if I put it this way, does it make you happy?"_

 _This time the answer came more easily._

" _At the moment, yeah. I guess it doesn't make me unhappy."_

" _Well then, it can't be all bad now can it. Hide them as much as you want Kashi, but they're your feelings, you are allowed to have them. Let them come and let them go."_

 _His eye had drifted back to her as she spoke. The words resonating with him more than she realized. If he was truly allowed to have these feelings toward her it couldn't be all bad, as she said herself. Asuna patted his forearm gently for affect._

" _You know, you're kinda wise for such a tiny person…"_

 _She elbowed him for the remark with a smirk. He almost laughed._

" _Thanks Asuna…"_

 _He added, and there it was again. The smile that he'd seen on her before. The one he'd not likely forget anytime soon. This one he'd earned for telling her the truth, more or less._

 _Perhaps he could control this feeling for a little while longer at least, though he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to let it go. It wouldn't have come on so strongly if it was something he could just ignore. And he was an expert at hiding emotions after all._

Asuna woke with a start, and if it weren't for the light still on she would almost have no idea of where she was. It still took a few seconds, aided by the warmth and familiar smell she'd been resting on. She sat up and peered at him a bit.

Kakashi sat next to her, one arm snaked behind holding her closely. His head drooped to the side and onto the back of the couch. Sound asleep.

Thankfully she had been able to sleep herself without the usual nightmares, but it was still a struggle for her to sustain it for any length of time. Call it a habit from being on the road, but anymore than an hour or two strung together was an achievement. So when she cast her eye up to the clock on the wall she congratulated herself on making it past midnight. But she suspected she had him to thank for that.

Gingerly she extracted herself from his hold, though he appeared to be well and truly out to it. The blanket wrapped around her dropped as she stood. Repressing flashbacks she picked it up and tucked it around him as he slept. He didn't move. How many times she'd tucked him in on this couch before, she'd lost count. It was such a far off memory that it almost made her laugh out loud how history was repeating itself. So many things had happened in that time, she never thought she would be back here again.

Asuna shook her head and moved slowly to the bathroom.

It was clean in here even. Catching a glimpse of her own face in the mirror as she washed up, Asuna couldn't help but feel a complete and utter mess. In her mind she looked it as well. She tore her eyes away from the mirror, on the road she may have gone two whole years at a time without so much as glancing at her reflection. There had been no cause to. Everything about her was a mess.

Her body, her mind.

Wandering back out into the lounge she stopped at the coffee table and glanced at the man sleeping on her sofa, the one who had held her so tenderly. It still made her breathe faster than usual just thinking about it. It had all been a warm blur, suddenly he had just appeared and taken her into his arms. There was still an afterimage of warmth where he'd touched her.

It all brought back too many memories, just as she knew it would. Making her relive the moments from well before she'd left the village, how she'd wanted him to acknowledge her, touch her, in that way… How she'd resigned herself completely to having a relationship of only mutual respect and friendship. How he'd taken her utterly by surprise that night in the rain by kissing her speechless…

Asuna yawned, eyed up the now cold tea and decided to drink anyway.

Rubbing her eyes and without any thought she went over to the light switch and flicked them off, it felt as if she were on autopilot, but some part her brain remembered how he hated it when she left them on. Oh how he'd scolded her for sleeping with the lights on. She smirked.

The injured shoulder was beginning to throb again, her head spinning.

Downing the liquid fast it was all she could do to make it back to the couch. Sitting on its edge with one hand on her forehead. This wasn't at all what she'd expected in finally coming back to the village. But then again, she hadn't dared to even wish to come home over the years, let alone just think about it. As if declaring her hope would somehow curse it to not happening. In her darker moments even remembering the village had made her feel weak. For a long while she had considered that her life was forfeit, she was nothing more than a tool to be used until it broke beyond repair or served its purpose.

Master Jiraiya was right, letting all those feelings and excuses go would not be so easy, but it was time to take her life back. Little by little, if she was careful, she could go back to being just Asuna of the Leaf village. What she would do next was a mystery to her. All she knew was her mission, and before that training to be the avatar. The thought made her dizzy again.

Kakashi sighed in his sleep and she eyed him with a smile.

For now she would only focus on getting well. And then she could go from there. Something Naruto had said to her last night in the garden suddenly came to mind.

" _I know you're strong Aunty, really strong. But you've fought enough. From now on you just leave it to me, it's my turn to look after you. I'll do all the fighting for you from now on, so just sit back and relax…"_

It was a nice thought, being able to stop and rest for once. Not having to constantly be moving or listening for information. It made her yawn just thinking about it as she sat back into the couch cushions. Maybe, just maybe, helping him train would be enough to keep her mind busy.

It needed to stay busy if she wanted to keep the memories at bay. Subconsciously she rubbed the scars and bruises on her wrists, how she wished she could simply forget.

With a suddenness that almost made her jump, Kakashi reached his arm out and shifted, pulling her back into him gently. She turned her head as it rested on his shoulder, he was still fast asleep.

Just as he'd done as a child he still reached out for human contact when his brain was finally turned off and would allow it. Asuna sighed and nestled into his warmth. He'd shied away from any kind of touch for so long it seemed to be instinctive while he slept. It had happened always in the handful of times they'd fallen asleep next to each other when they were very young.

Although now things were much different. Asuna closed her eyes.

She realized how much she still wanted him. Not that she could ever put it into words to tell him so. It seemed as if the old feelings were there on his part also, in one form or another. Perhaps not with the burning fire as they had been the night she'd left and whispered in his ear.

" _I'll love you always."_

The way he'd kissed her that night was with more ardor than she thought he could ever feel toward her. The way he'd touched her, with that intensity and desperation only proved it. As she began to drift off Asuna allowed herself to wish for that touch again. At least for the moment it now appeared as if time was finally on their side.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

Kakashi wasn't accustomed to sleeping the entire night through, instead preferring to read into the wee hours and perhaps doze while he could during the day. Over the years it had become his best strategy for avoiding the inevitable nightmares that still haunted him occasionally.

So when his eyes opened to darkness it was nothing out of the ordinary. But the warmth beside him combined with a feeling of contentment was not something he was at all used to. Sitting himself upright carefully so he wouldn't disturb Asuna as she slept, Kakashi took in the sight of her before scratching his head.

Perhaps he really was getting old, his neck was aching a little already from sleeping in that position. But he wouldn't have shifted for anything at that point.

She must have been awake at some stage, the lights were off and one of the cups was empty and moved from its original spot. Judging by the light out the window it would be a couple hours perhaps until the sun was up.

Wanting her to feel rested when she woke, and possibly a little concerned considering her injuries, Kakashi withdrew his arm from around her and gently lay her down. It unsettled him slightly at how light her body was as he lifted her legs up onto the couch. He remained seated on the edge of it as she lay against the back cushions. Carefully turned so that her left shoulder was not leaning against anything. Out of some strange reflex he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to get a better view of her face.

These were uncharted waters for him.

It was not a chance he would waste, Kakashi had enough regrets already to last a lifetime, he was not about to add to them. Her coming back was nothing short of a miracle in and of itself. Now he could protect her properly.

His mind had been running rampant the last three days at least, wondering exactly what he would say to her. How he could possibly make it up to her for being such an idiot for so long. It was not something he'd worked out exactly, but as before he'd only needed to see her face to figure out what he _wanted_ to say. But he had to remind himself that there was plenty of time for that, there was no need to rush and mess things up even more. As much as he sorely wished to give in to the feelings he'd disallowed himself for so long. It was the same all consuming emotion that had ravaged him during that year before she had left. Ever the perfectionist he found himself suddenly cursing that aspect of his own personality. Except he'd never managed to perfect his interactions with others at any time of his life.

Though not at all tired, it was as if his thoughts were suddenly weighing him down. Kakashi turned himself very carefully to lie down next to her, just as they had when they were children. He was grateful for the wideness of this couch once again, it had served as his bed many times. With a sigh he touched his forehead lightly to hers, it was the only part of her body he was comfortable touching at this stage. As much as he wanted to touch her more than this slight way there was no way he would risk waking her.

Asuna sighed in her sleep.

Occasionally his eye would drift shut, he seemed to be lingering somewhere on the edge of sleep. Hours might have passed but he wouldn't have known. At some point Kakashi thought she was shivering so retrieved the discarded blanket from the floor, delicately placing it overtop of her. That small movement and contact this time was enough to make her stir.

There was a way in which her body jolted and her eyes suddenly snapped open that alerted Kakashi to the fact that she may have forgotten where she was. It was a feeling he'd felt sometimes after being away on a mission for too long, he could only imagine what it must be like for her.

His own eyes met hers, making sure there was at least breathing space between them as she appeared to be suddenly struggling.

"It's alright, you're safe now."

Kakashi watched her eyelids droop as he spoke, watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest slow down, repeating himself as he ran a hand through her hair.

"You're safe now…"

Asuna made a noise like a sigh of relief as her eyes closed again. For a moment she was perfectly still, Kakashi taking his hand back and dropping it at his side.

That had been too close.

He turned on his back to stare at the ceiling and for extra measure, so he wouldn't touch her again and wake her, folded the arm dangling off the side of the couch behind his head.

That was the moment he felt her shift.

Her whole body came to rest against him, using his chest as a pillow. The way she nuzzled herself in there lead him to believe she was at least partially awake, but it could also have been instinctive. A little awkwardly, trying to avoid her injuries, his other arm snaked around to hold her properly, mimicking the way she'd tightly wrapped her arm around his middle.

Asuna made that sighing noise again before going still.

Kakashi could see her face, propped up as he was, and knew that she was asleep.

And that was how they stayed. Kakashi couldn't move even if he wanted to. The part of his mind that was alert tried to remember if he'd ever been this tangled up with her before.

Comfortable and rested he also began to formulate a plan of attack, so to speak. A few times he caught himself smiling at just the thought of what might happen next.

Excited as he was for the ball to start rolling, when the light began to trickle in from outside he still didn't feel like moving much. Though he knew he'd have to soon regrettably. There was still something about Asuna that seemed to calm him, Kakashi was now able to truly appreciate that quality, unlike before.

Part of him wanted to stay like this for as long as possible.

Apart from Asuna's sometimes shaky breathing the only other noise now was the first chirping of the morning birds.

That sound was enough to disturb her. Shifting a bit she pulled her arm away from his middle, but remained cuddled into him. Her eyes weren't even open yet but he could tell that she was awake. What he wouldn't give to stay here for the rest of the day. But with the sunlight and chirping birds came the days inevitable work that had to be done.

Kakashi sighed himself at just the notion.

Asuna wriggled a bit so he relaxed the arm he had wrapped around her. She only shifted just enough so that they met each other eye to eye lying next to each other.

"Good morning."

He watched her smile at his words as her eyes opened a little.

"Morning."

The way in which she started leaning closer had his pulse shoot up a little, thinking for a second maybe she intended to kiss him. Instead she rested her forehead against his and then there was the soft feeling of her hand trailing down the side of his cheek.

Time to put the plan into action.

"Sleep okay?"

Withdrawing her head from his she answered with a kind of smile and nod just like she used to.

"Good.

"Thank you for staying Kashi, it helped, I know you don't like to..."

He'd forgotten how distracting he found it when her lips starting moving. How he wanted to silence them so desperately, only magnified by how close she was.

 _Not yet._

The timing had to be perfect when he did finally give in to it, or he wouldn't be able to stop.

"I couldn't stay away, you know that right…"

Somehow his hand had found its way into her hair. Kakashi watched her eyes, looking for any hints that she wanted him to stop. Asuna nodded again just a fraction though he hadn't exactly asked a question. _Not yet_. He could feel his resolve weakening with each second they lay together like this.

There was no need to hurry, and yet…

"Asuna, there's something I need to…"

A pounding noise interrupted him, followed by a voice that instantly made his eyes roll.

"Kakashi sensei! We gotta get goin'! You in there?"

The pounding started to get louder.

"Honestly…"

He muttered under his breath. Asuna made a soft giggling noise and he felt his heart skip a beat or two, forgetting for just a second she was still in his arms.

"Kakashi sensei!"

The yelling persisted.

It was when the knocking shifted to Asuna's door that he felt the sudden urgency. He sighed before stealing one last look at her face, relinquishing his hold on her. They both sat up.

"Aunty Asuna, you in there?"

They exchanged a look of bemusement.

"You realise there's no hiding from him this time?""

"Yup. No two ways about it."

She made that giggling noise again.

"You sneak out back, I'll distract him for a minute while you get ready."

Standing as she spoke Kakashi almost couldn't move for the flashback he was having to a time when she'd said the exact same thing about Guy. Then he was distracted for entirely different reasons, the smile on her face was more beautiful than he had expected.

Asuna looked back at him once she reached the door.

"Get moving!"

"Oh, right…"

With a shake of his head he made his way quickly and quietly. The smile on his face was almost unstoppable now.

It was finally time. Things were about to get _interesting._

Asuna opened the door to find her nephew now banging on Kakashi's with renewed vigour.

"You alright there Naruto?"

He turned to face her, looking a tad unimpressed at first but it faded.

"You're up! Sorry if I woke you Aunty…."

"It's fine, I was already awake. Looking for that sensei of yours I take it?"

Casually Asuna leant against the door frame, disguising a niggle of pain that shot through her shoulder. Though it was nothing compared to the previous day.

"Yeah, he's not uh… in there with you is he?"

Naruto moved fast to peer into the open door to her apartment with an expression that reminded her so much of Kushina she laughed a little louder than usual.

"No, no he's not in here. I can hear him banging around in there though, so he won't be far away I'd wager. Why don't you come in? Have you had breakfast?"

Asuna made to wander back into the kitchen when she caught his smile.

"I could eat, and that means I can take care of the other reason I came by here this early."

"Other reason?"

"Well, I wanted to check on you of course! Make sure your first night home went okay."

There was a grin on his face that immediately made her smile.

"Thanks Naruto, but I'm just fine, no need to worry about me. Come on in."

She wandered into the kitchen with Naruto following her inside, when her hand reached the kettle she had a brief flashback to the night before. Suddenly she felt goosebumps.

Naruto appeared to be studying the vase of sunflowers on the counter.

"Nice touch Kakashi sensei, that guy is one smooth operator alright."

Asuna smirked.

"Yes that surprised me, sunflowers are my favorites too…"

It had also surprised her the way that he'd spent the whole night holding her. But that was a detail best left unsaid.

Naruto took a seat on the barstool at the kitchen counter.

"He restocked the fridge and everything…"

A quick look through the cupboards and refrigerator was enough to confirm it. Everything in them was exactly how she'd left it, but with current ingredients of course. He'd made it appear as if she'd never left. The attention to detail would have disturbed her but this was Kakashi after all.

"That sly bastard, I thought he was hiding from me before we went to pick you up. Turns out he was just holed up in here getting all the dust out, if he'd just told me I would've helped."

"So you caught him in the act huh?"

Mindlessly she'd begun preparing various pots and pans. Cooking in this kitchen had always been her element, it was something she truly enjoyed. Though it hadn't been as fun without Kushina, having Naruto here made it all the better.

"Yeah I caught him alright. Why he doesn't just come straight out with what he's up to I'll never know. Was he like that when you were kids?"

Asuna thought carefully.

"No, he wasn't always like that. He changed quite a bit after the last war. Now, what would you like to eat?"

Changing the subject would probably be for the best. Though she'd never been an avid talker anyway, there was something off-putting in talking about Kashi's past without him present. And she didn't feel comfortable in telling her nephew about it anyway, it wasn't her story to tell.

"Chef's choice! I'm not picky when someone offers to cook for me."

He grinned.

"Alright then. Let's see if I remember how to cook properly…"

Deciding on some form of french toast Asuna continued, ignoring Naruto as he conspicuously eyed the room.

"This is a nice place you got here. Did you always live on your own?"

Asuna nodded though she realized she'd have to respond with words. She'd made a promise to answer all his questions after all.

"Yeah, I guess." There was a distant thudding sound and she smiled. "But Kashi was just next door, and I was too busy to notice I was alone..."

Another thud of a door closing could be heard.

"Geez, the walls are pretty thin too, huh."

"He must be running late to be making such a noise."

"What are you talkin about, he's _always_ late…"

Asuna chuckled softly and continued throwing things together. The pain perhaps coming back a little keener that before, it was still not enough to stop her. It disturbed her how quickly she'd gotten used to being without that pain in just one night, but this morning it was greeting her like an old friend.

"Back in the day, whenever I made a racket like that, he used to give me quite the telling off. Especially when I would kidnap you…"

Perhaps it was because she was cooking in this kitchen again, or from the first decent sleep she'd had in fifteen years, but for some reason Asuna found herself voicing things so easily. Maybe it was just because it was Naruto, and he was so like his mother.

It was the same feeling of comfort she felt with Kashi sometimes.

"Kidnap me?"

Asuna turned to see his quizzical expression and had to think a moment before she realized.

"Oh right, you wouldn't know about it. Lord Third wouldn't have told you anything either, especially about me."

"Got that right." Naruto sounded downhearted for a fraction of a second. "The old man told me I had no family, so I was really surprised and happy when I heard about you Aunty. But what do you mean by kidnap?"

She spoke her next words carefully and with a tinge of sadness.

"Well, when you were a baby, I used to steal you from the orphanage you were kept at. Whenever I could… I was too young to raise you myself, and it was far too dangerous for you to have stayed with me for any length of time… I see that now, but back then I just wanted to bring you home."

The smile that spread on his face grew, she turned back to the task at hand as a sizzling noise caught her attention. But the words kept flowing.

"Lord Third did his best to protect you from my enemies, and the enemies of your mother and father as well. I hope you don't hold it against him…"

"Of course not! I mean, yeah it was hard being on my own, not knowing anything about my family or parents. But as soon as I found out how hard you fought for me, I dunno, it made me so happy. I'm just grateful I get to talk to you about stuff, and have you home!"

Asuna could have shed a tear at that, if she had any left within her.

"Thanks Naruto, you don't know what that means to me… Anyway, where was I?"

She gathered a plate.

"You actually kidnapped me? That's so funny."

He laughed and she remembered the train of thought. Actually conversing with people was going to take some getting used to. Keeping track of the conversation was already taking more effort than she cared to admit.

"Oh, that's right. Yes, it was a bit tricky to start with, but after a while an arrangement was made so I could take you for the odd weekend. They had no way of stopping me after all, so I guess they had to allow it. Kashi got the fright of his life the first time I brought you here and you cried out in the night. Or he was just unimpressed, it's hard to say with that face of his. Here you go! Breakfast!"

She put the heaped plate in front of him and there was a small sparkle in his eye.

"Thanks for the food!"

In between mouthfuls he made the odd unintelligible remark about the taste. Suffice to say that it met his high standards.

Asuna's mind wandered back to happy memories of making dinner for baby Naruto, and coming home to Kashi cooking something. The sudden nostalgia was not something she'd allowed herself in a very long time. It felt strange to her, like very slowly the terrible memories from the mission were being erased. She wished with all her heart they would stay away a while longer at least. It felt a little like those happy memories had been sealed away for protection and were being released one by one.

Naruto made quick work of his breakfast and grinned profusely. Paying her more compliments than she'd heard in her whole life.

He was telling her more about the teammate they were trying to save when there was the sound of footsteps and a knocking on the open door.

"Finally Kakashi sensei! Took you long enough, what the hell were you doing in there?"

Asuna remained leaning on the counter as she turned to see him standing at the door. Dressed back in customary jonin wear she had to admit the look suited him better than anbu gear. It would take some getting used to though.

"Good morning to you too, Naruto. This guy's not bothering you is he?"

Kashi stuck out a thumb toward Naruto while looking to her. She smiled listening to Naruto's murmuring.

"Not at all, we were just catching up over breakfast. Right Naruto?"

"Yeah, and waiting for your sorry behind. Thanks for breakfast Aunty, see you later today! C'mon sensei, let's goo…."

Naruto was already heading out past Kakashi.

"Just a minute Naruto, you go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"What?! No way I'm letting you off on your own again!"

Asuna might have chuckled at the way he rolled his eyes at Naruto, she could recall him doing that to her long ago.

"It'll just take a minute, wait for me if you want. I need to ask your aunt something."

Naruto raised an eyebrow past Kakashi toward her, Asuna shooting Kakashi a quizzical look of her own.

"Alright then, I guess just a minute's okay… I'll wait over here. Yell out if he's annoying you Aunty!"

The last past was yelled auspiciously as he walked down the path out of sight. She giggled.

"I don't seem to be commanding a lot of respect these days…"

Kashi sighed as he stepped inside, scratching his head and glancing back to Naruto's retreating figure. With a smile Asuna began gathering the dishes to the sink, eyeing the copy ninja from her peripheral vision before turning to face him.

"Breakfast?"

"No, as much as I would like to, I'd better not keep him waiting this time."

"It's probably for the best."

For some reason Asuna felt nervous about this conversation, but in a good way. It didn't make sense to her already shaky mind, made worse when he stepped closer. Standing about two feet in front of her.

"There is something I want to ask you. But first… I need to apologize. I know the timing isn't great for a proper apology but I've never been so good at timing when it comes to you anyway…"

There was something in the way he averted his gaze as he spoke that reminded her of the boy she'd left behind. It was only for a second that she saw it. With a nod and a smile Asuna finally caught his eye, no words would come out for her though.

"I have a lot of things to regret in life, but chasing after you that night isn't one of them. I'd do it all over again if I had to, I know that sounds selfish. It took me a little while to realize just how much worse I must have made it for you. I'm so sorry Asuna, if in any way my actions made it harder for you to leave…"

The words were on her tongue but hadn't quite managed to force themselves out yet. Instead she bridged the gap between them and placed her palm on his masked cheek. The contact stopped him mid sentence and his eye locked with hers.

She shook her head. The words came quietly.

"No, no need to be sorry. You were right, I needed to know. If you hadn't told me I might've taken even longer to finish the job…"

She could almost feel the relief spreading through him in the following silence. She dropped her hand and he instantly took it with his. This time she was the one looking away, there was also a warmth on her face which meant she was probably blushing. She hadn't expected him to look at her like that, it did strange things to her insides. There was a shadow of something that crossed that dark eye of his and when he directed his gaze to her...

"Thank you, that means alot to me. It also makes what I'm about to ask you less troublesome…"

She snapped her eyes back to his face, but it was difficult for her to judge. He was certainly no longer the boy that she'd been able to read like a book.

"I waited for the perfect moment for a long time and it never came, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. There's already too much lost time to make up for anyway…"

He danced his thumb down the side of her face quickly and she felt a familiar tingle from his touch. Asuna might have closed her eyes at the sensation,

"I wanted to ask, if you'd agree to go out with me… just dinner, have a talk…"

She waited for him to continue, perhaps a little dumbstruck. When he didn't she nodded yes and mustered up the best smile she could offer.

"Good. There's a lot of things left unsaid, I think it's time to get them out in the open."

She nodded yes again.

"It's a date then. It'll have to wait until I'm done with your darling nephew of course."

Naruto was now yelling from the path, it seemed to wake her up a little from the dreamy fog she'd fallen into.

"I'll look forward to it until then, Kashi."

Asuna squeezed his hand back a little and he finally smiled back.

"Me too."

They let go of each other, Kakashi eyeing her up as he made for the door.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Hold your horses."

When he was gone and out of sight Asuna let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. The grin that spread onto her face was also out of her control. For some reason the effect he had on her had grown to an alarming level over their years apart.

She turned to clean up breakfast when she felt a sudden whoosh of air. It would have frightened her but she could feel the familiar warmth and scent directly behind her.

"Forgot something."

The words he spoke huskily in her ear left her with goosebumps. When she turned to face him Asuna was ready to poke fun about the forgetfulness of his old age. But she was silenced very quickly. The mask had already been tucked around his neck, she opened her mouth a fraction in surprise and that was all it took.

Lightly he placed two fingers on her chin, drawing her face into his.

And she was transplanted to fifteen years ago.

Her eyes snapped shut.

He made effort not to touch her more than he already was, but his lips on hers was the same as it had been years ago. Tender, slow, tenuous. But with an underlying fire that threatened to escape with every second.

If she wasn't so utterly shocked she might have responded differently. Gradually he deepened the kiss, she could feel his hand shift to tangle itself in her hair. Slowly and ever so gently he held the back of her head and drew her further into him. The technique was pretty flawless, it gave him the opportunity to take complete control of her mouth. And suddenly it was desperate, and anything but slow.

Asuna's mind went blank, acting on instinct alone. Whatever distance between their bodies had been crossed when he stepped in closer to her.

Asuna's hands found their way to his chest.

Almost as soon as the kiss had become a dizzying battle of tongues he surprised her again by pulling away. Leaving her light headed and confused, she opened her eyes to see him smirk. But he couldn't hide how shaky his hand was as he pulled the mask back up his face. Taking a deep breath he sighed, resting his forehead to hers.

Asuna hadn't been aware of anything like time or noise, they were variables that went out the window as soon as he'd touched her. Now she could hear Naruto talking loudly with someone, and a yelling back which was probably the pink haired medic.

"I really need to work on the timing…"

She was still too shocked to reply to him. Just stood there, mouth slightly open as he stepped back from her.

She recognized the sound of footsteps coming down the pathway. Kakashi walked backwards toward the door, ogling her the whole way before he reached it.

"See ya later."

She nodded meekly as he turned and stepped out.

"Oh, hi Kakashi sensei!"

"Morning Sakura…"

He was out of sight, replaced by Sakura who walked up to the still open door and knocked on it.

"Good morning Lady Asuna…"

For some reason she felt unable to move or speak. Her mind was still trying to process what had happened.

Sakura came in with a concerned expression but she didn't notice.

Not only had he asked her on a date, he'd kissed her again in her own kitchen. He really wasn't wasting any time. The thought set fire the darker urges she didn't think she was capable of anymore.

"Lady Asuna, are you alright? You're all red, do you have a fever?"

Sakura's hand on her head snapped her out of it and she may have jumped a little at the touch.

"What? Oh no, I'm fine, I'm fine really."

The nervous laughter probably wasn't putting her at any ease but she smiled all the same.

"Oh, that's good. I thought I'd come give you a hand today before we go back to the hospital. You must have a lot of things to catch up on…" Sakura looked around the apartment. "But the place looks great for being closed up for so long. Naruto wasn't kidding when he said that was all sorted huh?"

Asuna found her voice.

"Yes it surprised me as well. But there are still a couple things that need sorting…"

She turned to the sink and dabbed some water on her face. Sakura raising an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Asuna turned and looked down at her clothes.

"Yeah, I need to restock my whole wardrobe by the looks…"

 _And find something to wear for a date._

Her heart skipped at the thought.

Sakura laughed a little.

"I see, I can help with that! I know all kinds of places."

"Thanks Sakura, I'll take you up on that now if you don't mind."

"Of course, it's the least I can do. I can't believe Naruto conned food out of you already, he's such an idiot. I hope Kakashi sensei wasn't up to that trick as well."

Asuna disguised the blush poorly.

"No no, nothing like that. And I did offer to feed him, just let me grab some things and we'll go…."

As she moved toward her katana resting on it's stand, where Kashi had placed it the night before, she completely froze.

Her hand hovering over top of it.

"Lady Asuna?"

Sakura watched her with a worried face.

Asuna had almost forgotten, she didn't need to take it with her anymore. It was going to take some getting used to.

 _Like some other things…_

She touched a hand to her lips.

Yes there were a few things she would need to get used to.

"It's fine Sakura, just forgot where I was for a second. Didn't I tell you to drop the Lady part?"

This time the smile came freely, and lasted the rest of the morning.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 _Something was up._

 _Kakashi could tell the instant they had reached the earth temple. Asuna hadn't confirmed it yet, but one look from her was all it took to know that she felt it too._

 _It was just a good thing that Asuna had told him exactly what to expect with the ritual. Even as they had approached the temple there was something off about the whole atmosphere. It didn't match the information that she had given him. The priests she spoke of were nervous in appearance as well. And there were fewer of them than they had anticipated._

 _Not long after their arrival they had been forcibly separated, it didn't bode well. Kakashi protested initially, but when Asuna gave him a curt nod he understood. So he pretended to leave at their request, subtly creating a clone. Immediately on leaving, the clone was followed by unmarked individuals to the border of the Land of BIrds. They had probably intended to kill him._

 _The real Kakashi settled on a location behind the temple and hidden from view. It offered him the chance to look down at the courtyard where Asuna was supposed to be completing her final test. Though he doubted it would actually happen._

 _He needed to wait. Be patient. Then he could get her out of there._

 _As far as the mission went, he had technically completed it, she had arrived safely. But he'd also promised to protect her, he could never bring himself to return to the village if something happened to her now._

 _He also had the feeling that she was still trying to keep him safe by leaving out certain pieces of intel. This feeling was confirmed with a growling kind of snarl he'd hoped to never hear again._

 _The great cat appeared next to him from the bushes and he bowed his head ever so slightly. There was enough for him to worry about without pissing this creature off as well._

" _Lord Kyros, I knew it."_

 _The tiger had always made his dislike for Kakashi known, but instead of the usual insult he cast his eyes out toward the yard where the priests were now leading Asuna._

" _Something's not right here boy. That's for sure,"_

" _Asuna sent you to find me?"_

 _The cat nodded._

" _She wanted me to lead you away from here.,,,"_

 _Down on the courtyard Asuna was surrounded by two dozen ninja, the priests hiding in the background. This was a complete ambush, Kakashi watched restlessly._

" _You're joking, there's no way I'm leaving her here. I bet there's a couple hundred of those bastards waiting in the wings…"_

" _Look closely idiot. Use that wretched eye of yours! That's not the real one down there, she made a clone at the last minute after she summoned me to get you."_

 _Kakashi was growing ever more frustrated._

" _She's using that clone as a diversion, why? What is she not telling me?"_

 _Kyros sighed, at least the cat like equivalent._

" _This was not part of the plan. She's had to improvise. Do you at least know the basics of the yin and yang ritual?"_

 _Kakashi nodded._

" _Yeah, she said there's a physical test of strength with the top earth style users, and then she goes alone into a sealed chamber. But she didn't give me exact specifics…"_

 _As he spoke the clone Asuna dropped her sword to the ground, it almost looked like an act of surrender, but he recognized the stance she had taken. A fight was about to kick off down there._

" _That's right. I don't know if she told you this part, but once this thing starts it cannot be stopped. Or she will lose the power to wield the element entirely, truth be known as soon as she set foot in that temple it sealed her fate."_

" _Seriously?"_

" _Yes. This is not the first time the society has impeded us during the ritual. It is however, a first for them to actually gain power over the priests and infiltrate the temple itself. Asuna didn't think it likely so she never bothered to tell you the ideas she had in place for this situation."_

 _The ninja surrounding clone Asuna launched their first attack all at once. Completely missing her as she propelled herself into the air above them. Kakashi stared dumbfounded for a second at the speed with which she dodged the blows thrown at her._

 _He shook himself out of it._

" _So the real Asuna is in that chamber I take it."_

 _Kyros smirked._

" _Yes. That is the essential part of this ritual, the fight is merely for show. And these idiots have no idea just what she is capable of."_

 _The crashes of earth below backed up what Kyros was saying. Eyes wide, Kakashi had never actually seen Asuna fight in this manner before, it shocked him that someone so small held so much power within her More and more ninja appeared from the shadows but Asuna took them down in waves. Crushing them with pillars of earth or knocking them completely from the yard._

" _She's able to do all this with just a clone?"_

 _Kyros nodded._

" _Asuna was very clever with the order in which she completed these rituals. You and I are the only ones aware that this is actually her final test. But I believe she has another goal here as well."_

 _There was a loud cracking noise as the earth beneath Asuna opened up to swallow the enemy._

" _Another goal?"_

" _Yes, but even I don't know what that is. I suspect she is gathering intel on the ones that chase her."_

 _There were at least five hundred ninja below them now. Kakashi was so enthralled watching her it almost made him forget the situation, it was just dumb luck that they hadn't been found yet. And who knew how long this clone would last, even if no one was able to even touch her thus far._

" _She never actually fought seriously with me at all… if she's capable of this…"_

 _The thought escaped his lips before he could check it. But she was only using earth style, supposedly her weak element. It was an impressive display._

" _I doubt she could ever raise a hand against you, even in a sparring match." Kakashi turned to look at the tiger at his words, he continued. "In no way would Asuna ever consider using her abilities against anyone she cares for, or deems innocent. It is a weakness I do not understand. If she ever sparred with you, my guess is it was out of curiosity alone."_

 _Kakashi considered his words for just a moment, but things were getting dire again and Kyros was growing impatient._

" _That aside, there's no way you could help that clone now, you'd only get yourself killed. We need to get to the real Asuna as soon as possible, she'll be weakened after she exits that chamber. Our job will be to get away as fast as possible."_

" _Got it. Where's the chamber?"_

 _Even though he knew it was a clone fighting, Kakashi was having to force himself not to jump down there himself to assist. It was irrational and it needed to stop. The sooner he got her out of here the better._

" _Follow me, dog boy. And use some manners when you address me, got it?"_

 _Kakashi didn't answer, they were already moving. He was past the point of caring whether he pissed off Kyros or not. There were questions he had, but it was pointless to ask now, he doubted the cat would answer him anyway._

 _As soon as they realized that it was a clone in that arena, the real Asuna would be in danger. The idea of her being weakened worried him._

 _He needed to keep her safe, he needed to hurry._

 _About two kilometers from the temple they finally reached it. It looked nothing more than an overgrown cave with a boulder covering the entrance. They watched from the shadows as they approached._

" _It appears unguarded."_

" _They were here though. Looks like her diversion lured them all in, she's giving them one hell of a fight back there..."_

 _Even as he spoke the boulder crumbled away in a strange blue light that blinded them for the moment. When it cleared he could see her, standing at the entrance, her eyes glowing with that same blue light behind them._

 _When Kakashi made to move Kyros stopped him._

" _Wait."_

 _The glow faded. Kyros nodded and Kakashi stepped forward, reaching her just as she slumped forward onto her knees._

" _Asuna, Asuna! You alright?"_

 _She collapsed forward and into his arms. Kyros was suddenly by her side and growling._

" _She's hurt…"_

 _Kakashi was certain he'd never seen the tiger so malevolent. He shifted to cradle Asuna carefully in his arm._

 _There, on her left side by her hip was a shuriken imbedded into her. There was a circle of blood now around it. Kakashi immediately felt bile rise into his throat. This was not what was supposed to happen. And it was not the reaction he expected from his own body._

" _Calm down… Kyros, Kashi… I'm alright. It's just a flesh wound."_

 _Her eyes opened slowly and Kakashi felt instant relief. Soon vanished as Kyros continued to growl._

" _That's not what I meant you impetuous girl! What on earth have you done? You've gone overboard…"_

 _Asuna seemed to be ignoring him as she looked up into Kakashi's eyes and spoke softly._

" _I'm so glad you're okay. Sorry about all this…"_

 _She put a palm against his cheek and Kakashi felt calm for a second before he noticed her wince._

" _Don't be sorry, you never need to be apologize to me…"_

 _There was a massive booming explosion that shook the earth beneath them._

 _Kyros reacted instantly._

" _That was the finale I take it."_

 _Asuna nodded to Kyros before trying to move. She dropped her hand from his face to rip the shuriken from her side._

" _Asuna, what the hell…."_

 _Kakashi grumbled but instead of talking action was needed, fast. Pulling some bandage like thing from his pouch he began focusing his chakra to his free hand, placing it over top of the wound._

 _She raised an eyebrow at him._

" _Medical ninjutsu?"_

 _He nodded. Concentrating was more difficult for this particular jutsu, it wasn't exactly his strength, but it would be enough._

" _That's right, copy ninja Kakashi… thank you."_

 _Kyros made a strange sound._

" _Hmph. Maybe having you here wasn't a waste of time after all."_

 _She placed her hand on his._

" _We don't have time. They're coming…"_

" _They're here…"_

 _Kyros roared before launching himself at the throat of an oncoming enemy. The snarling and growling would haunt Kakashi's dreams for weeks._

" _That was just the first! There's more on the way… and you're too weak right now… This isn't good."_

 _Kyros grumbled, blood dripping from his mouth._

" _Apologies Kyros. It's ten times as powerful as the last. I was unprepared."_

 _Asuna sat herself up, Kakashi wondered at what they were speaking of, but healing her was first priority._

" _That'll do for now… let's get you out of here. Can you walk?"_

 _Asuna nodded but wasn't able to get to her feet easily. All the same there was a grin on her face that had Kakashi bewildered, and a little perturbed._

" _What the hell are you grinning about girl?"_

 _Kyros eyed her quickly._

" _It's definitely there Kyros. I finally found it."_

 _The way in which she spoke, with a grin darker than he thought her ever capable of, gave Kakashi a chill. Even though he had no idea what she was talking about._

" _Seriously?"_

 _The conversation was cut short as a hundred kunai came at them, fast._

 _He was glad he didn't blink._

 _In the time it took Asuna to raise an arm there was a great wall of stone shielding them._

" _We need to go, now! I'm not sure I can control this power for very long."_

 _Asuna's voice was still strange to Kakashi, and her eyes had begun to glow again on and off._

 _In an attempt to get rid of their assailants Asuna made some action with her hands, the stone pillar launched forward with speed, crushing anyone in its path. The screams were audible._

 _She then slumped over, Kakashi catching her just in time._

" _Are you trying to kill yourself girl? GIve it a rest!"_

 _Kyros snarled, circling round to guard Asuna._

" _It's alright, leave it to me…"_

" _No, dog boy!"_

 _Kakashi shot the tiger a look of anger and frustration. Kyros responded quickly._

" _Conserve your chakra. We're going to need it. Asuna, can you still…"_

" _Already on it…"_

 _Without another word Kakashi draped one of her arms over his shoulder to support her, and they started moving. Kyros bringing up the rear._

 _Kakashi became aware of Asuna looking back every few meters and moving her hands in the strange way she did. It wasn't a hand sign, but it was the avatar equivalent as he saw it._

 _There wasn't time to think, they just had to keep moving. Kyros charged at the odd enemy, Kakashi himself throwing the odd shuriken or two. But it wasn't having any effect, there was just too many, and some of them were fast._

 _In the time it took Kakashi to realize that Asuna had actually been covering their tracks the entire way, the attacks being thrown at them grew less and less. Even injured, and weakened from whatever ritual she'd gone through, she was still able to control the elements around her. Her seemingly limitless chakra had him a little envious._

" _Think we lost them?"_

 _Asuna shook her head no._

" _Perhaps for now, but they will still be tracking us. Or laying traps ahead."_

 _He suddenly remembered the shadow clones that had fallen prey to this tactic in the first week of the mission._

 _Kakashi senses keen as always detected a faint scent in the air of gunpowder and something else, something foreign. Abruptly he stopped moving, Asuna seemed to understand just by taking a side glance at his face._

 _They had already walked into the trap._

" _Why are we stopping? Now's not the time…"_

" _It's too late, Kyros."_

Sitting underneath the shade of a tree, on a newly created wooden bench, Kakashi rested the open book over his eyes. Ten Naruto's above him, trying relentlessly to cut the waterfall, Tenzou seated a few metres away in his circle of pillars watching the boy closely.

There must have been something pitiable about him that morning for Tenzou to offer to make such a thing for him without any coaxing. Or perhaps he was getting too predictable and his former ANBU colleague simply knew the request was inevitable. Kakashi wasn't sure which option was preferable. But the bench was certainly a little more comfortable than the ground so in any case he was thankful. Even if it was a gross misuse of chakra.

He congratulated himself that he must be hiding his emotions better for Tenzou not to notice his elevated mood in the last few hours. In truth he was finding it difficult to even sit still for any length of time. It had been an exceedingly _interesting_ morning after all, hence all the latent excitement within him, mixed with other emotions he tried to ignore for the moment.

With his eyes closed he could picture that dazed look on her face when he'd broken the kiss.

He sighed. That image seared in his brain was not likely to shift today. There were still so many other things to tell her, he needed to be patient just a little more. But that small taste of her he'd allowed that morning, one he thought he could handle, was enough to dissolve that patience.

Kakashi had wanted to hold her longer, make her kiss him the way she had that night in the rain. But indecisiveness resulted in his poor timing. Again. It was becoming habit with her that was hard to break.

But time was on their side now.

No need to rush. There was a right way to do this, and he wasn't going to mess it up. Despite how tempting it was.

And she was still injured.

He'd hoped that his actions had temporarily relieved some of the torment that he'd seen going through her mind, and not made it worse. He made a mental note to apologize for it later.

Another sigh escaped him.

The pain hidden behind those azure eyes of hers was still there. Just as he was sure that the shadow of tragedy followed his own eyes, it was not something that just disappeared with one kiss, or any kiss. And that had sparked his most troubling thought of the morning, perhaps he was just adding to her misery. It had been such a long time, he didn't really know how she would react anymore, she'd been through more than he knew at this point.

Though she appeared to be the same beguiling spirit as before there was no telling if the woman she'd grown into was exactly the same.

Then there was the second most troubling thought, he really didn't know her at all anymore. She didn't know every nuance of his life like she once did. And now that she was back after so long, in all honesty, he wasn't even sure he knew his own feelings.

Kakashi's astute mind focussed on what he _did_ know. Just as he would during a difficult mission, focus on the facts, it was shinobi 101.

 _Well, she still likes sunflowers._

It was the first thing to pop into his head, he smirked beneath the book. It was true. Things began to flow a little easier after the first fact was out there.

 _We both missed each other._

That was a more hopeful idea. And it was true also, he had missed her but even more than that it had physically hurt him. So much so that he'd taken any and all distractions. in the form of missions and books, that he could while she had been gone.

 _She had said that he was her home._

When they had held hands in that garden she had said that too. The more he thought of it the more it pleased him. For many years she had been the only person he'd willingly shared his life with, even if it was marginally. At some point he'd sought refuge in her kindness and found a _home._ The fact that she regarded him the same way, for whatever reason, pleased him more than it should have. But he knew what her reason would be.

" _You're all the family I have left…"_

She'd said that too once, long ago.

He'd realized it far too late indeed. It wasn't that he needed her around anymore to take care of him, but he _wanted_ her there. Wanted her calming presence, and the way she would challenge him. He'd fallen for her mind and soul and then yearned for her body as well in later life.

 _He wanted every part of her._

It was perhaps negligible to be so possessive, but it was an undeniable truth.

All of the seemingly little things she had done for him in the past all added up to one big picture in his mind. Once again he cursed his stupidity for being so late to the party.

 _It's my turn to thank her for everything she's done… My turn to take care of her._

His mind was made up.

Already he'd planned the date he had asked her on, down to the last detail. If he was honest he'd been thinking of it for fifteen years. It was the original plan he'd come up with before she'd left the village, the one he had been too cowardly to ever ask her on.

Kakashi exhaled deeply.

Whatever his feelings, she was the only person he'd ever felt them for.

 _Patience._

"If you sigh like that again Kakashi I'll have to ask you what's wrong..."

Tenzou wasn't looking at him directly as he spoke but Kakashi was glad the book still covered his face.

It only took a moment to compose himself.

"Nothing wrong. Just a few things on my mind."

When Tenzou scoffed he lifted _Makeout Tactics_ from his eyes and shot him a glare, refusing to sit up just yet.

It seemed that his time out from the Anbu had emboldened his colleague a little. Or at least blurred the strict lines of professionalism he'd once adhered to.

Tenzou laughed nervously before turning a little more serious as he spoke.

"Look at me like that all you want, I know you. You've been making that sound all morning. If you want to talk about it I'm all ears and not moving anytime soon."

Kakashi almost laughed at how predictable he was becoming to his comrades. Unsure if it was a good thing, somehow he didn't like the idea of becoming a creature of habit. Like it threatened the walls he'd put up to protect himself and others.

But Tenzou was his friend, sort of, so he _almost_ appreciated his concern. Even if it made him feel a little pathetic.

The sounds of Naruto pushing himself to the limit reinforced that feeling. What a sorry sight he must be. Kakashi sat himself up, book still open he feigned reading it in a bid to avoid the conversation. But Tenzou was right, they were going to be here a while.

"Nothing to talk about, just pondering the mysteries of life…"

"Mysteries of life huh?"

"Yup. Nothing to concern yourself with."

Kakashi could hear the amusement in Tenzou's voice as he continued his attempts to ignore him.

"So you're completely fine then…"

Kakashi nodded.

"And those mysteries have nothing to do with a certain avatar returning to the village?"

This distracted him from the page he'd been staring at.

"Why would…"

He immediately began to feign ignorance when Naruto's booming voice could be heard above them.

"Oi! Sakura! Aunty!"

Kakashi's eyes went up to see the blond fervently waving at the far entrance to the training field. Any attempts at indifference went out the window as his head immediately snapped to his right. The two kunoichi could be seen at a distance, Sakura waving back. One of the Naruto clones jumped down and ambled to meet them.

Kakashi felt Tenzou's eyes on him as he stood up, the grown man was practically giggling as he sat on the ground.

"Don't worry Kakashi, your secret's safe with me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Yamato…"

He moved out of the shade of the tree toward his approaching students, pretending to ignore Tenzou's comments of 'it must be serious for you to use that name'.

It was an unwritten communication between the former Anbu colleagues, Kakashi figuring using the code name would silence the giggling idiot for a while at least. The disruption to his normal countenance was becoming obvious to others, he hoped it was just Tenzou picking up on it.

To be fair it had been an _interesting_ morning.

"Yo."

He raised a hand in greeting Sakura and Asuna. Sakura storming forward past him making noises he wasn't going to inquire about, there was an almost visible cloud of anger surrounding her.

Asuna was laughing hard at something Naruto had said before the blond ran to catch up with Sakura.

"Oh Sakura, let me carry that!"

"About time you offered, I'm not your servant you know!"

The pair continued arguing as they wandered over to the bench by the waterfall. But Kakashi was staring dumbstruck rooted to the spot. Asuna was wiping away a stray tear that had escaped with laughter, still trying to compose herself. But that wasn't what caught his eye.

She'd been shopping.

The clothing she had on was new, and revealed to him that she was no longer a girl who strapped her chest down. The light blue and long sleeve look suited her, it was by no means tight or revealing but with the fresh blush on her face from laughter it was a vision to him at least. It was the version of Asuna he'd longed to see again, but more womanly than he remembered.

Maybe the kiss had agreed with her after all.

He smiled at the thought. His eye dangerously lingering from her curves to her lips before he was able to snap himself out of it.

"Something funny?"

Still smiling Kakashi walked slowly beside her.

"Just something Sakura said…"

The way she grinned and flickered her eyes at him only confirmed it. Whatever she had been laughing about was at his expense somehow. He would've sighed but the whole look of her still held his attention. The leaf headband was back in it's spot, knotted to her arm, with her hair tied back like she used to.

For just a fleeting moment there was a wondrous feeling as if she'd never left in the first place.

With a nod to Tenzou as they approached Asuna cast her attention to the waterfall where the rest of the Naruto's were still going at it. Kakashi watched as her eye darted to Tenzou's pillars and then back to her nephew.

What was that he had seen on her face, disapproval?

Sakura appeared to have forgiven Naruto and they now stood under the shady tree.

"Naruto tells me the shadow clones are his specialty, but doesn't this training method seem a little reckless?"

"There's nothing to worry about as long as I'm here Lady Asuna." Tenzou spoke up from his spot on the ground, she glanced sideways at him while her face remained stoic.

"It's not that which concerns me…"

Kakashi shifted his gaze from a laughing Naruto back to Asuna, understanding what she was meaning.

"It's true once the jutsu breaks he's more than a little exhausted, but it seems he also inherited some of your stamina, so it doesn't take very long to pull himself back up again."

"I see." She smirked a little. "You always think of everything Kashi, I guess you wouldn't have come up with the idea if he couldn't handle it."

There was a smile on her face now that he couldn't help but reciprocate.

"Aunty, Aunty! Thanks for coming, can I ask you some questions real quick?" Naruto darted over and away from any of Sakura's special food pills.

"So you called in the expert for some pointers I see."

Naruto nodded to Kakashi with a smile at his words, but his expression turned back to seriousness waiting for Asuna to reply.

"I promised as much, ask away Naruto. I don't know how much help I'll be to you though."

"Don't be silly, Kakashi sensei says you're the expert and that's good enough for me!"

Asuna scratched her head uncomfortably with a kind of half smile.

"Where do I start…"

Kakashi interrupted Naruto.

"I can see I'm not needed here, he's all yours. Good luck…"

He'd said the last part in a melodic way, retrieving the book from his pocket and walking back to his resting spot. Things were definitely going his way today, if he was lucky he might even be able to spend the rest of the afternoon comfortably ogling her from afar. It was possible he felt a smidgen of guilt in leaving Asuna to deal with Naruto's eventual tantrum and lack of patience, but he reasoned that she was probably better equipped for it than he was.

Though he was back to resting on the bench his ears were tuned to Asuna, listening intently as she attempted to explain wind chakra _again_ to Naruto. Kakashi smirked, he was enjoying the tone of her voice and having her in his line of sight.

He attempted to hide his disdain at his attention being shifted to Sakura as she spoke.

"I hope Naruto doesn't coax her into exerting herself."

His visible eye flicked from Sakura back to Asuna, once again he found himself wanting to put his former student at ease, but she was the one who knew more than he did at this point. Any consoling words he used would be empty. Perhaps it was the medic's similarities to his former team mate that made him want to reassure her so often, he couldn't be completely certain. In any case he had always tried to think what Rin might say when these situations arose, he hoped some of her kindness had worn off on him a little.

But all the same, he had to agree.

" _If she overdoes it, even a little…"_

He rested the book down on the bench.

"Now now, I'm sure she wouldn't…"

He stopped mid sentence with sudden recollections of Asuna during her own training, and he realized it. Perhaps leaving her with Naruto wasn't a good idea in hindsight.

But before he could elaborate he watched in dismay as Asuna jumped up with Naruto to the platform in front of the waterfall.

"Sensei?"

Straining his ears he vaguely heard the word 'demonstration' and chose a glance at Sakura.

"Perhaps we should keep an eye on the both of them for the moment…"

"She's just as careless as he is, right?"

Sakura sounded unimpressed, there was an aura of doom surrounding her now which almost made him laugh to himself. This good mood he found himself in was dangerous.

"Well they are related after all."

Despite himself he smiled. Sakura eased a little in her posture, eyes still tuned to the platform. Kakashi watched intently, resisting the urge to uncover his left eye to view the scene a little better.

It all happened more quickly than he could anticipate, Asuna raised a finger and pointed it toward the waterfall, when she swiped it through the air there was a great cracking sound. Sakura's eyes bulged as they exchanged a quick look.

Asuna had cut the waterfall right the way across with one finger.

Not only that she had actually cut the earth behind it.

"You're joking, she barely lifted a finger…."

Sakura's words fell on deaf ears, Kakashi's eyes narrowed in concentration as he observed Asuna. Searching desperately for any sign of strain on her body. It wasn't easy with ten jeering Naruto's swarming around her small figure, when they shifted the sight his eye was met with was unexpected.

So unexpected that he completely zoned out on any conversation around him.

She was smiling, and _laughing._

Combined with the droplets of water sparkling in the sunlight as they cascaded over her, it was an image that overloaded his already fragile senses. And she didn't seem damaged by the small exercise in the slightest.

Holding up that same finger Asuna directed the Naruto's back to their positions with a grin on her face. That grin was also something he'd forgotten about.

But the main thing that had completely slipped his mind suddenly stood out like lady Hokage's chest. He'd forgotten just how powerful Asuna had been when she'd left, and that grin right before she'd kicked someone's ass into next week.

Just how powerful had she become over the years…

It must have had something to do with seeing her well and able, and the way her clothes were now clinging to her in a delicious way underneath that waterfall, but all of a sudden Kakashi felt _excited. Too_ excited. Once again the conversation had completely drifted away from his attention. Vaguely he recognized his own name, but his eyes were trained on Asuna as she jumped back down. One Naruto following behind her.

"What?"

Sakura made that terrible tongue clicking noise to show her irritation. He could practically _hear_ her rolling eyes.

"As I was saying… _sensei_ …"

Sakura, it seemed, was doomed not to finish whatever she had been trying to say.

"Did you guys see that? Aunty is so cool…"

"Yes we saw it Naruto…" Sakura made no attempt to hide the irritation she felt at being interrupted, her voice softened a fraction as she addressed Asuna. "You shouldn't be exerting yourself Lady Asuna, you heard what Lady Tsunade said…"

The medic approached her, but Asuna only offered a side smirk and waved her away. Kakashi shifted on the bench, his gaze fixed on the avatar.

"It's fine, I made sure not to use any chakra. I promise."

These were the words that had Naruto stumped, tilting his head to the side in confusion, Kakashi noted that Sakura wasn't surprised at the revelation and had to wonder what else she knew.

"How do you not use chakra for that change of nature?"

Asuna scratched her head as Sakura appeared to be ushering her to sit down. There was no escaping the forced medical exam as her hands glowed green even before Asuna took a seat on the bench.

"Well, you'll have to bare with me, I'm not the best at explaining things but I'll give it a shot…"

Kakashi had an involuntary flashback. Sitting silent, he was still uncharacteristically flummoxed by it all, her appearance, her strength, _her smile._

"Without trying to confuse you too much, you know how you have two kinds of chakra within you, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"The fox's chakra and my own, yeah I get that."

Kakashi could see where she was heading with this, and it had to be the simplest explanation for it he'd ever heard. It would have made him laugh if it weren't for the serious expression on Sakura's face as she continued to pour her healing chakra to her hands. It was so serious it broke his fixation on Asuna for a moment.

"Well, the avatar's chakra is a bit different. It's like having six different kinds inside you, it's my job to keep it balanced. Each chakra is a different nature, like wind for example."

Naruto, if possible, had tilted his head even further in confusion and Kakashi audibly sighed. It was true that Asuna was not the best talker, she certainly had a knack for simplifying things, it appeared however that she had underestimated her own nephew's stupidity.

"You must have heaps of chakra… But how come you don't need to use it for something like that?"

He gestured to the waterfall and Asuna scratched her head again, glancing to Kakashi for just a second. While he wanted to help her out here, he also wanted to see exactly where she was going with this. Sakura beat them both to the punch.

"The physical element responds to the person, or avatar, who has control over those chakras, isn't that right?"

Asuna nodded.

"That's right Sakura."

The smile on Asuna's face broke whatever seriousness that had consumed Sakura, and she now backed off with a smile of her own, no longer focussing on healing.

The Naruto's above them continued to make noise as they worked.

"So you can just control any element without using chakra?"

Asuna was now sporting a pained expression under her smile and Kakashi decided it was time to relieve her. Even if it had been momentarily hilarious.

"Sort of, but I believe it has limits from memory…"

Asuna nodded gratefully.

"And the avatar in question has to maintain perfect control and balance of all of those chakras for it to work. Like the way _you_ need to be storing and fusing _your_ chakra better to achieve a stronger change of nature…"

"Yeah yeah sensei I got it. I can do this…"

Naruto was now the one who had an adopted air of seriousness, he nodded curtly to them all before turning back to the platform, jumping up to join the clones. Kakashi sighed, muttering something under his breath that caused Asuna to elbow him in the ribs. The action took his breath away for a second, but it was the grin on her face that had stolen it completely. It was just like the old days… The thought made him smirk.

Sakura's giggle snapped him out of the reverie.

"Nice to see someone putting you in your place sensei…"

Asuna was now holding back laughter.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

He mumbled, deciding to return to his original hiding place, halfway through Icha Icha Tactics. Leaning back he placed the book strategically over his face so that his visible eye was able to gaze at Asuna should he open it. Kakashi watched her grin before her attention shifted to Sakura.

"I must say, you're very well informed Sakura."

The medic gave off a nervous air as she accepted the compliment. It seemed to Kakashi that Asuna more than likely had the same thoughts as he did on the subject.

Sakura was deliberately not saying something.

He had another involuntary flashback to the Kazekage's rescue attempt, ' _I stole into Lady Tsunade's private study as often as I could…'_

That had to be it.

"Well, when Lady Tsunade said I would be helping to treat you I figured I should do my research…"

No lies so far. Kakashi watched Asuna's impassive features, but he found himself distracted by the blue of her eyes. And she was so close… she had that apple scent that was blended with something sweet like plums. At least if nothing else came from this training with Naruto, Kakashi could confidently say that he had been able to determine some things about himself.

His feelings remained unchanged, Asuna still captivated him in exactly the same way she had done years ago, and she was the only one who held his attention in that way.

More importantly he wanted to know this 'new' woman she had become, just how powerful she could be, what it would take for her to be with him completely.

In short, this training needed to hurry up so that they could go on that date.

There were so many things to talk about and his patience was at its limit.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The conversation had drifted on him, yet again, but Asuna's sudden tone and statement drew his attention. She had directed it at Sakura and not him, he surreptitiously dropped the novel from his eye.

Sakura was shaking her head glumly and clutching at the satchel at her waist.

"I'm not mad Sakura, it's just, that's not some light reading material by any means…"

Now his curiosity was piqued.

"Originally Lady Hokage only wanted me to read it in assessment of the injuries you sustained, but… well…"

At this Kakashi watched her reach into the bag and retrieve a thick folder which he immediately recognized as the mission report than Asuna had handed in.

"I seem to be having trouble putting it down. It's like a dramatic novel! You really should consider becoming a writer Lady Asuna…"

Kakashi's eye went wide as he gauged Asuna's reaction.

"I'm no writer Sakura, and what did I tell you about that 'Lady' part hmm?"

"Oh, right sorry…"

Asuna sighed and scratched her head.

"Just promise me you'll stop if it gets a bit much. It does get a little weird in places…"

Sakura nodded earnestly and Kakashi raised an eyebrow, any attempts at hiding now completely out the window.

"Don't you look at me like that Kakashi sensei! I know how you are with those disgusting books of yours, at least this isn't trash…"

Kakashi put on an over dramatic pained expression, placing a hand on his chest.

"It isn't trash, it's literary genius, a work of art..."

"Work of art my behind."

Kakashi was entirely distracted as Asuna started actually laughing at the exchange. The sound sent a warming sensation to his chest. Happiness. He glanced to Sakura who met his eye with the same smile of relief.

"When you say it gets a little weird in places…"

Kakashi's question came out without his express permission. Asuna was still cheerful as she looked to Sakura.

"What part are you up to, dear?"

The medic lit up.

"The part where you join the pirates!"

Kakashi seemed to be in a permanent state of surprise today, Asuna glanced back at him with a look that said, _it gets even weirder._

"Pirates?"

Tenzou called out from his spot on the ground. To be honest they had forgotten about him entirely during the course of the conversation, and he was meant to be concentrating on the nine tails chakra after all.

"What on earth were you doing with pirates?"

She sighed.

"Well, ironically it was safer to travel with them than on my own…"

"So you joined them?"

Kakashi couldn't help it, he'd been suckered in to the conversation after trying to remain unfazed, at least Asuna was amused by this.

"Yeah, I was their musician…."

Sakura put her hands over her ears.

"No spoilers!"

Now it was his turn to laugh.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 _It was raining again._

 _Bad luck was just following them at every turn, but Kakashi still considered that it a small price to pay. They were alive, even after falling into that trap, even after Asuna unleashed what he could only call a complete and utter rampage onto the enemy._

 _It had been nothing short of terrifying._ _ **She**_ _had been terrifyingly powerful._

 _What was scarier still was that she hadn't woken since the finale of that fight. It had been two days at least with her slumped over his back while Kyros had stayed by his side, following obediently for the first time ever in Kakashi's experience with the great cat._

 _The conversation between them had been few and far between, and Kakashi was too exhausted to maintain any kind of chatter with him. All that had been said was the brief explanation for the unrelenting power Asuna had demonstrated at that desperate moment. The words had circled Kakashi's mind as he attempted to make sense of it, until eventually he'd settled for a quiet confusion. Too tired to probe more, and there were more pressing concerns now. Like getting to safety._

 _Whatever power she had unlocked during this mission, she had used every ounce of it to get them out of there. Kakashi would never forget the way she'd shoved him onto Kyros before that ominous glow had taken over her eyes. It had been other worldly. And it had shaken him completely._

 _In the second that followed Asuna's words of warning to Kyros, to get out of range, a barrier of gustrous air had encircled her. Lifting Asuna above them in a hovering ball that cut the forest surrounding, Kakashi had only caught glimpses after that. Horrible images that made the rest of his Anbu career look like a walk in the training grounds._

 _But there were only two things going through his mind now, days later._

 _First was that he had to keep moving, he would stop for nothing and no one. Not until they were one hundred percent and completely out of danger. He would protect her now with every ounce that he had left. So they travelled at a pace that hadn't faltered in almost three days, if Kyros was right they would be approaching the Land of Birds, and a likely safe house. If it was still standing._

 _The second, and this was the thought that spurred him on, if Kyros was to be believed, Asuna had known what would happen to her after that display. Kyros had made the flippant comment early on that Asuna must have trusted him completely to release what he called 'the avatar state' without hesitation. Asuna trusted that Kakashi would get them both out of there once she had taken care of the enemy, and she had taken care of them all spectacularly. Now he was going to do his part in this mission, he would not let her down at any cost. Even if he had to carry her to the Land of Snow without stopping._

 _The rain continued to pelt down in sheets, making it damn near impossible to see a thing, vaguely Kakashi could smell a kind of wet sediment and hear the rain as it hit water. They were near a lake._

 _Kyros ran ahead to the lakes shore and lapped up some of it's fresh water. Kakashi followed a little slower, contemplating the surroundings, but he would not put down Asuna. Even if he was sore and exhausted, he would not put her down until he was absolutely certain…_

" _Do you have any idea where we are?"_

 _The question came out of him in between desperate attempts for his lungs to fill themselves. He hadn't even realized how out of breath he was._

 _Kyros fared no better._

" _We've got to be close now. This place does smell familiar..."_

 _Kakashi almost sighed in relief, but as soon as he reached the water's edge and stopped moving, his legs decided to finally give out. One knee gave way and crumpled to the earth, the other he only barely managed to keep straight and it was shaky at best._

" _Unf…"_

 _Kyros padded up to him._

" _Take a rest boy, give her to me for a while…"_

" _No."_

 _The flicker of anger across the tiger's face at Kakashi's quick reply was visible._

" _Insolent…"_

" _Forgive me, Lord Kyros, but I can't…" The cat fell silent as he watched Kakashi struggle back up to his feet, Asuna looked almost peaceful resting against his back. "...I can't let her down. Got to keep moving. Besides, we can't wear you out and risk you returning before we've found the safe house."_

 _Kakashi missed the look Kyros gave him as he began to move again, albeit a lot slower now. That brief pause had caused every muscle in his body to begin a cry for rest. When Kyros did not immediately follow, Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to see what he was doing. The cat continued to stare right at him with a look of malevolence that Kakashi could not fathom, when he paused the cat spoke._

" _Why are you willing to go so far for her?"_

 _The question came out almost like an accusation which Kakashi did not appreciate, considering the way his thoughts had been scattered lately. When he didn't answer immediately Kyros continued._

" _She told me once… that you grew up together…"_

" _Did she tell you anything else?"_

 _Kyros shook his head no._

 _Kakashi contemplated what kind of reply he should give. For some reason he had felt a distinct shift in his relationship with the great cat these last few days. He wondered at the sudden line of questioning, despite it making him unimaginably uncomfortable, Kakashi could see no real reason to withhold any information. What harm could it do, except to make him feel even more like an idiot? And he didn't like that, not one bit._

 _Being called a genius by most inherently made him act in a certain way, even if he didn't always like it, with a self-assuredness that some might call arrogance. It made these….subjective matters, like emotions and feelings all the more foreign to him and ever difficult to speak of out loud. As if he had anyone to talk to about these things anyway, except maybe Pakkun. The dog would probably think his own master insane if he started rambling about what he was feeling, it was not something to subject his own summons to._

 _So he kept silent. Kyros stayed still watching his every move, waiting for some kind of answer. What ever had caused the sudden interrogation must have been significant to the cat. Kakashi measured each word carefully before he spoke._

" _Asuna called me family once… And now she's all I have left…"_

 _Kakashi would have continued if he had been able to find the words, but they just weren't forming in any kind of coherency, and just as well. He was already giving away more information than he was comfortable with, it's not as if he was great friends with the cat in the first place._

 _Kyros studied him for a moment longer before giving the slightest of nods, whether he approved of the answer was lost on Kakashi._

" _Let's keep moving…"_

 _These words actually spurred the cat to start walking. Kakashi did his best not to linger on the brief conversation and the feelings it had caused to rise in his chest. Glancing over his shoulder at Asuna's still sleeping face a sense of desperate urgency began to claw away at him again, to protect her, keep her safe._ _ **Keep her.**_

 _Those two little words stood out in his thoughts, his heart began to beat faster and this time it had nothing to do with exerting himself._

 _With every kilometer they walked along the shoreline Kakashi grew more certain about the feelings he'd deemed as subjective before. There was nothing blurred about it now. One hundred percent, he knew, he was entirely in love with her._

 _It was a possessive feeling, which accompanied the possessive way he cared for the young woman unconscious on his shoulders. It wasn't going away either. Kakashi resigned himself to it, surrendering completely. He might have sighed, but it went unnoticed. This was going to be trouble._

 _Earlier thoughts of him being worthy enough to simply be around her morphed into something else. A mass recall of all the memories he had of Asuna doing hundreds of seemingly menial things, all for him. A cooked dinner, or breakfast, a lunch to take on a mission, books that she thought he would like, hospital visits, warnings about Guy coming over…_

 _A small smile crossed his lips at that last one, and there was still so many more._

 _She had never once crowded him or got in his way, but he was slowly realizing that she was in every happy memory he had left, she was in all of them. Asuna had become the only reason he was able to still smile, and what had he done for her?_

 _Nothing. Zero._

 _This mission might count for something but it paled in comparison. Those seemingly little things she had always done for him added up to one big picture in his mind, she was essential. And as far as he knew_

That first afternoon, the one spent in sunlight laughing with Asuna, and his other teammates, was probably the most peaceful afternoon he'd had in _years._

For a sweet while he'd completely forgotten about the injuries she'd sustained, or that she had even been gone at all. She just seemed to fit in next to him so well. It was only when Sakura had to take her away for treatment that he remembered all the rest.

With a lighthearted ache Kakashi had watched her walk away from that field with a smile that refused to move from his face. Even as the light faded and night crept up on them he continued to smile, and there was only one reason for it.

 _She had promised to come back tomorrow._

Admittedly Asuna had said this to Naruto, with the promise of bringing something that was edible and not food pills. Sakura had been out of earshot for that comment thankfully. But it had been the way that Asuna had caught his eye as she'd said it, only briefly, and the light blush on her cheeks and he knew…

 _She wanted to see him too._

Tomorrow, however, came and went. With no sign of her. Or the next day. Or the day after that.

The days were beginning to feel much longer than Kakashi would dare to admit to anyone other than himself. Not to say that he wasn't spending the time comfortably, relaxing with his favourite book, resting on a wooden bench beneath the waterfall. He suspected the reason behind it dragging stemmed from a growing impatience within himself.

To go home. Where someone was waiting for him. Just the notion of it was a novelty that would take some getting used to.

With a sigh he shifted and glanced up at that damned waterfall, a hundred Naruto's also seemed to be growing impatient.

"Naruto, break off the jutsu. Let's tally up for the day."

His order was met with disdain which Kakashi ignored. In any case Tenzo would be needing the break right about now, so any argument from Naruto would be quickly rebuked.

The blond made the necessary hand sign without fuss. Kakashi suspected he'd accepted the order only because of the pink haired medic now approaching from the entrance to the training grounds.

With an exasperated huff Tenzo broke the seal he'd created and seemed to barely be able to sit properly. Meanwhile Kakashi watched the cloud of smoke dissipate on the platform, waiting for his student to inevitably succumb to the exhaustion.

"Sinking in yet?"

He called up to him when there was no immediate reaction.

"No, still not there."

There was a distant thud as Sakura placed a basket of those abominable food pills on the now vacated bench. Naruto's knees gave way as Kakashi reached him in an instant. But the boy steadied himself on his own.

"It's only a matter of time Naruto, trust me, we'll take a short break and get right back to it."

"But that's just it Kakashi sensei, I don't have time…"

That impatience resurfaced itself and any attempts to comfort his student went out the window.

"I know you can take a licking, but…"

He turned his head toward Tenzo who was wheezing quite audibly while Sakura looked on a little concerned.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… Let's...keep going. Just give me a sec."

"Yikes."

With that Naruto seemed to finally get the gist and made his way down to Sakura. Kakashi watched on, making an exasperated sigh of his own. There was another reason he'd been a bit short with his teammates the last few days, though it came from the same source as his restlessness.

"Aunty's not with you today either huh?"

Naruto's question caught his attention and he joined them readily.

He didn't fail to notice the way Sakura shifted her feet like she was trying to hide something. That was her tell, ever since their genin days, he wondered if Naruto had picked up on it as well.

"No not today, she's... very tired. She does send her love though, and I'm sure she'll stop by again once she's feeling up to it."

It was all truths as far as he could tell, the kunoichi was deliberately omitting information however. Immediately sending up a red flag in his mind.

Naruto seemed to be sated by the rosette's smiles for the time being.

"That's a shame, I wanted to ask her some things, guess it can wait. Right now I gotta get something to eat though…"

Hunger a more pressing concern for the boy, it distracted him enough from any other conversation as he prepared one of the many ramen bowls he'd brought with them.

Kakashi still kept his eye on Sakura as if to force her into telling him the whole story without voicing the order. The veritable glare he shot in her direction didn't go unnoticed as she shifted uncomfortably. Naruto seemed intent on spending his time while waiting for the water to boil, poking Tenzo's figure as he lay down unmoving in the grass.

There was no need to beat about the bush with it. Kakashi spent a fraction of a second scolding himself for being so foolish in wasting time.

"Asuna's alright I take it?"

The tone of his voice stripped any kind of menace from the unnerving way he seemed to be staring at her. Looking for any hint or reaction to his words.

He felt ill at that moment with a kind of worry that manifested physically, until she spoke.

"She really is okay Kakashi sensei, there's no need to panic. It's just…"

Right then he was sure his heart had stopped beating for a few seconds.

"Well, the word 'tired' is really an understatement. I don't know if I should be telling you any of this, but she's so exhausted she's barely moved for the last three days. Lady Tsunade, Shizune and I have been taking turns tending to her, but there's nothing physically wrong at all. Asuna's just _sleeping._ Lady Hokage says it's likely accumulative fatigue or chakra exhaustion, she was even surprised it hadn't happened sooner. But the adrenalin Asuna's been running on for all those years finally wore off I guess…"

Kakashi released the breath he'd been holding with instant relief. So much relief in fact that it turned into a kind of nervous laughter and the words escaped his lips before he could check them.

"Oh, so that's all. You had me really worried for a minute there Sakura."

Sakura's head snapped to him in surprise, with a little of her short temper seeping out as well he felt the need to elaborate carefully.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not making light of it… It's just, well, after some of the longer missions Asuna and I used to go on as teammates she would, on occasion, sleep for four or five days at a time. Sometimes it took a week for it all to really hit her."

"Seriously? They must have been some pretty intense missions…"

They were. But those details were definitely not something his former pupil should hear about in any case. He just nodded and half smiled, not that she could tell.

"I must say ,I'm more than a little relieved. Sounds like she'll be back to her old self once she wakes up properly."

Sakura had voiced his own thoughts.

"Me too. I had started to look forward to her showing up here every day, she made things a whole lot easier, guess I'm getting a little selfish in my old age…"

"What do you mean a little?"

The snide remark coupled with the narrowed eyes of mischief prompted him to change the subject with a scratch of his head. Perhaps he'd revealed a little too much about himself in the blissful state of relief he'd felt.

It was true though, all of it. He'd so enjoyed the idea of having her around each day, even if they weren't exactly going to be alone. Naruto hadn't noticed it straight away, but her absence was felt obviously by the way he'd spoken to Sakura.

The medic was now eyeing the still form of Yamato as she began to move in that direction Kakashi couldn't help himself.

"Sakura…"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks... for taking care of Asuna."

She smiled properly this time with no hint of mischief so he offered one back.

"No worries sensei, just leave it to me."

Yamato tried to wave her off as she approached but it appeared like the kunoichi wouldn't be taking no for an answer today.

"Good grief…"

Kakashi sighed at the raucous laughter coming from Naruto and added the scene to his small stockpile of happier memories. He'd been doing a lot of that since Asuna's return, even without her actually present, things seemed a lot brighter all of a sudden.

But there was a shadow that caught his eye. Skyward a lone messenger hawk was circling above them. Kakashi watched it apprehensively while the others slowly took notice.

He was being summoned.

It was either an emergency or something else he didn't want to imagine for this training to be interrupted right now.

"Kakashi sensei…"

Sakura spoke with a little urgency before he saw what she was concerned about. Naruto had fallen asleep waiting for his ramen to cook, succumbing to exhaustion.

"I know. I'll catch up with you guys later."

With that he was gone in a flash that might've even made his sensei proud. The faster this all got done, the faster he could get home.

Hokage's orders.

That oval office had never exactly been one of his favourite places, so to spend three hours going over every detail and nuance of the mission there was not ideal. It was unfortunately, necessary. These were not the kind of orders that could be taken one way or another, it had to be exact and planned to the letter.

And there was no other person she trusted with the job, or so she'd said.

Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, or whether the veteran shinobi was simply stroking his ego in an effort to motivate him for the mission. Say what you will, Lady Tsunade had a way with words.

As if an imminent threat from the Akatsuki wasn't motivation enough.

The sky was tinged with amber by the time he was permitted to leave in order to prepare, to depart by nightfall. Those were the orders.

This was not a regular mission, something classified outside an S rank, so he'd immediately gone to the old Anbu barracks to gather what was needed and waiting for him, wasting no time. He was still so familiar with this building and how it worked. Lady Tsunade had made it very clear that this particular assignment required the utmost secrecy and discretion, "it was just fortuitous that he happened to have ten years of Anbu missions under his belt". Lady Fifth certainly didn't beat around the bush.

The darkness that surrounded the place was palpable despite the sun still visible in the sky, he certainly hadn't missed this place.

Signing the required forms quickly, and perhaps with a little more gusto than the poor clerk had ever seen him with in the last ten years, he collected the required scrolls for the mission and promptly returned to the streets of Konoha.

Kakashi _finally_ was completely free.

At least until the sun went down.

And there was only one place that was calling him.

Moving with some speed, his mind briefly wondered to Naruto and how displeased he would be at the suspension of his training. It was something he would have to get over, the idea of distracting him with another mission had been Kakashi's, though he was now second guessing himself. It was too late now, he was sure Tenzo would be able to handle it.

He almost smirked at the thought. _Yamato_ was going to have his hands full on this one, and he'd likely hear all about it later.

 _If there was a later._

He faltered in his step as he reached the pathway to the apartment adjacent his. That wasn't the kind of thought he should be indulging in right now.

She would see right through him immediately, just like she always did. Reminding himself of his earlier conversation with Sakura, he knew that she would most likely be asleep anyway. It disheartened him a little, but he still counted it a blessing to be able to see her at all, conscious or otherwise.

The door was unlocked, which was enough alone to alert him to the presence of another person.

Stepping into the kitchen Kakashi nodded to Shizune seated at the counter. A mountain of paperwork surrounding her, it was probably one of the weirder sights this kitchen had seen. Kakashi couldn't help but think of Asuna's disapproval at the blatant misuse of her bench top.

"How's she doing?"

Expecting a different response entirely from the embittered kunoichi, and her open dislike of him in particular, he was taken aback when she looked up at him with a half smile.

"About as well as to be expected. Why don't you take a look for yourself? Just, don't be surprised if she doesn't wake up."

The door to Asuna's bedroom was slightly ajar. Kakashi nodded to Shizune before slowly walking over to it. Whatever paperwork Shizune was pouring over had commanded her attention again for the moment. Just as well, peering through the gap Kakashi wasn't sure what emotion he might give away.

Shinobi rules aside there were certain things one just couldn't be prepared for.

Sliding the door just a little more he watched Asuna as she slept. Propped up slightly on a large pillow, one hand resting by her cheek, she certainly looked the picture of peace. Serene even.

Though even from this distance he could see what had Sakura so flustered. Asuna looked even smaller than usual. Her hair looked golden in the light, it captivated him for longer than he realized, barely registering Shizune wander over to his side.

"As you can see she's still exhausted. I imagine she'll be like this for the rest of the week. Look who I'm talking to though, you know all about chakra exhaustion right Kakashi?"

He shifted his narrowed eye to Shizune for a second and she caught the hint.

"Anyway, with Lady Tsunade and Sakura also keeping an eye on her I don't think there's anything to be overly concerned about."

He kept his thoughts to himself, he would always worry about Asuna it didn't follow any kind of logical thinking. It was reflex. Silently he watched her still sleeping form, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, he could watch her all day if he were allowed.

Momentarily Kakashi forgot exactly what else was going on around him. Shizune understood his reluctance to leave as concern for Asuna's wellbeing.

"Aren't you scheduled to leave for a mission?"

At this he sighed.

"Yeah, but I had a little time so…"

He trailed off, unwilling or unable to voice why exactly he'd shown up. It wasn't something for Shizune to be privy to in any case. It had taken years for him to work out in himself why he behaved the way he did whenever Asuna was involved.

Feeling sorry for himself in that second he hadn't noticed Asuna shift on the pillow.

"Kashi?"

Even her voice sounded smaller, but she had to be half asleep the way she'd begun to rub her eyes as if to push the tiredness out. He stepped forward in an instant, just inside the room so she could see him better.

"Hi."

Behind he heard Shizune speak with a sweet tone before she closed the door.

"I'll give you a minute or two to catch up."

Kakashi would've looked back to gauge exactly what form of blackmail he'd be in for later but his eye was fixed on Asuna as she succeeded in propping herself up just a fraction more.

He took a seat on the bed at her side, his hand moving of its own accord to casually tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, lightly dancing his fingers on the smooth skin of her cheek as he went.

Still closed, it took that touch for Asuna's eyes to flutter open. She looked up at him with half lidded drowsiness before they flickered shut again and the smile spread on her face. It was the kind of smile he liked best, reserved for him alone, at least that was how he saw it.

"It is you. Sorry, I'm just a bit worn out at the moment."

His hand trailed down from her face to her arm, running his fingers down until they captured her own tiny hand. Lately he seemed to have less control of himself when it came to touching her like this. It was another reflex

"What have I told you about that sorry word, hm?"Kakashi caught the amused exhale she made before he continued. "Besides, I'm the one who's sorry."

Asuna's eyes opened a fraction as she hazily regarded him. He certainly felt sorry for himself in having to leave her, perhaps even a fraction for Naruto having to pause his training. Asuna shifted to place her other palm on his cheek, he leaned a little closer so she could reach without sitting up fully. Kakashi sighed.

"Mission?"

She was no fool. He nodded yes, pressing himself closer into her hand. Asuna gave a little side smile before sighing herself, she didn't say anything though, knowing better than to ask details of a mission.

She nodded a little glumly and Kakashi found himself slowly leaning towards her. Asuna's eyes widened suddenly.

"What about Naruto's training?"

He made a silent chuckle.

"It's on hold till I get back."

Her brow furrowed a fraction.

"I'm sure I could supervise it once I'm back up and…."

As she spoke she tried to sit properly and winced, withdrawing her hand from his face. Kakashi gently put a hand to her shoulder and pressed her back down on the pillow. She made no protest.

"Hold your horses there. Your only job while I'm gone is to rest, you'll need to get your energy up for when I get back…" He wasn't so sure exactly how he'd ended up so close to her on the bed so suddenly. "I still have to take you on that date remember."

Inches apart he paid special attention to the dark look that crossed her eyes. It was something akin to surprise, but he now recognized it as something much different. This was the look she'd given him in the rare minutes they had stolen together over the past week. Kakashi was getting better at searing it into his memory banks permanently.

That look in her eye paired with the smile that danced on her lips.

Yes, that was definitely something.

It riled his insides as he became suddenly aware that they were inching closer to each other still, her hand had made its way back to his cheek. Dimly he noticed the way her fingers teasingly tucked into his mask as if to pull it down his face.

Kakashi considered himself a gentleman, but if she kept looking at him in that way, and touching him ever so lightly… well. At least they were on a soft surface.

That look was definitely one that was reserved for his eyes only.

"Right, and exactly how much energy will I be needing?"

He couldn't suppress the smirk. She was good at this, like he knew she would be. Though he wasn't entirely sure it was intentional.

"Well, that's variable." He couldn't help himself raising an eyebrow briefly. "But no need to worry, you won't have to lift a finger. Trust me."

The hand that had rested on her shoulder now found purchase in her hair, tangling his fingers in its softness. Asuna guided his face closer to hers, dissolving the small gap between them, and rested her forehead to his. She sighed in either contentment or frustration, he wasn't sure.

"Of course."

"Good." He said brushing the bridge of his nose with hers. "As soon as I get back then, so you'll have plenty of time."

"Mmm."

Kakashi watched her eyes droop slowly, felt her breath mingle with his through his mask. By the time Asuna had pulled the fabric down, ever so slowly to his chin, he was already kissing her. Softly tasting her lips as she responded in kind.

It had started as a lingering, and ever so light touch.

The sensations it invoked forcing his eye shut and his other senses went into overdrive, focussing on the warmth, the taste, the sound of her. That breathy mewling noise she made as his overloaded senses coaxed him into picking up the pace would probably replay in his mind for weeks.

She met him with equal ardour.

There was nothing soft about the way he'd almost begged access to her mouth, his hand tilting her chin so he could gain the upper hand. But the way her tongue danced with his made it impossible to have any control over it.

Didn't she realize that this was dangerous?

Kakashi felt that tiny hand of hers gripping the front of his flak jacket. It was all he could do not to crawl into that bed with her, explore her body with his mouth, hear what other sounds he could elicit from her. That thought alone pushed him dangerously close to the edge of his own restraint, and he was already well over his self imposed time limit.

Things needed to slow down or they would both be in trouble.

Without breaking away from her tempting lips Kakashi lured her back to the slow and lingering kiss from before. It beguiled him that she always kept at his pace, never taking the lead or falling behind. As if she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. And while he appreciated that Asuna was probably only respecting his feelings as usual, the deep set _darker_ urges within him were calling out.

To touch her as much as he could, to see how far she would go.

To make her moan his name, hear her beg.

To shatter that damned self control of hers.

Kakashi was suddenly aware that his own breathing was growing quite laboured as he fought to calm himself down. There was a right way to go about this, tempting as it was to go off plan. He just had to make sure this mission went without a hitch.

A distant thud in the next room followed by a slam was enough to shake his foggy mind clear. Thank goodness for elevated hearing.

By the sound of it Sakura had arrived to relieve Shizune.

With one last peck of her kiss swollen lips, Kakashi took a deep breath and pulled back ever so slightly. Finally allowing himself to gaze down at her, a gentle blush on her cheeks and eyes glazed over with _that_ look.

It was definitely a sight he would have to burn into the memory banks.

He found he had to clear his throat a little before he spoke, as if her kiss had stolen his voice completely.

"Right then. You stay right here…" He ran a hand through her hair for effect. "And I'll be back for that date in a couple of days."

Pulling back fully now he readjusted the mask to his face. Not a second too soon as he faintly discerned the door sliding open an inch while Sakura eavesdropped on her patient.

"Got it."

Asuna smiled as he stood and Kakashi felt like was almost tearing himself in half having to leave her. But her eyes flickered shut again and her breathing went into that fast pace it did before she dropped back off to sleep. Before he stepped out he heard her soft words before she succumbed to tiredness again.

"Kashi, take care."

"You too Asuna."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Thanks for the support loves. This whole fic was something I wrote years ago and it's rough as hell so I appreciate anyone who sticks with it. I've had a few discouraging reviews so I just want to make it clear that this isn't my best work by far. Cheers.**

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Bleary-eyed Asuna was finally awake enough to focus on her surroundings. With no clues in her immediate view to determine exactly how much time had passed, she settled for staring lazily toward the window, she could discern the time of day at least from the light and the shadows they cast.

The last thing she remembered was being kissed into sweet oblivion before the warmth of sleep had enveloped her again. She tried her hardest to remember what the light had been doing at that time and what time of the day it could have been, but all she could recollect was _him._

Asuna had been warned on her initial arrival, by Tsunade no less, that post traumatic stress would be a very real concern. And it's sharp teeth had begun to sink into her skin the longer she spent left to her own devices without a focus. Each day she'd grown more weary until eventually just the thought of getting out of bed was too much for her.

Today was the opposite, throwing the covers off and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Today was better. Perhaps Shizune had been right and she had just been tired, maybe it had just been accumulated fatigue or whatever.

Though Asuna was skeptical that she could be that lucky.

In any case, it was not something she was going to deem worthy enough to consume her thoughts. Not when she had other more pressing concerns. Working out exactly how many days had passed being one of them.

Stretching her arms as she stood Asuna anticipated the familiar niggles of pain that usually accompanied the action, but they were pleasantly absent.

Yes, maybe she had just needed to rest after all.

 _Or perhaps making out with a certain jonin short circuited your brain._

It was all equally plausible, Asuna was almost smiling to herself as she dressed quickly and slid open the bedroom door. She had been vaguely aware of Shizune, and sometimes Tsunade, watching over her occasionally. But she hadn't expected to find Sakura sitting at the kitchen counter, pouring over some documents and looking rather disheveled.

"Oh, Lady Asuna, you're up! How are you feeling?"

Asuna noted how the papers were quickly shuffled away.

"Just fine, thank you Sakura. I didn't realize you had been roped into babysitting me. I'm sorry."

"Oh no, not at all. We got back from our mission yesterday and I offered to take over…"

Asuna had the distinct impression that Sakura had 'offered' in order to avoid something else.

"A whole mission huh, guess I've been out for a while…"

Asuna scratched her head and gathered a glass of water, suddenly feeling like her throat was a desert. It had to have been a few days at least…

"A little while, about five days altogether. Shizune says you haven't woken since Kakashi sensei left two days ago. Which is when we were sent on a D rank to distract Naruto…"

Asuna regarded the pink haired kunoichi over the rim of her glass.

"I take it the _distraction_ part hasn't worked?"

Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"I was worried that might happen…"

Asuna kept the rest of it to herself, that she would offer to take over if it weren't for the insistence of Kakashi that she take it easy. As Sakura gathered the rest of her papers into her satchel Asuna mused on what might've caused the visible cloud of doom surrounding the younger ninja.

"Why don't you leave Naruto to me, Sakura. I'm sure I can manage something of a distraction."

"Oh no please, Lady Tsunade wouldn't want…"

Asuna waved her silent.

"Nothing physical, I promise, just something to keep him occupied. He is my nephew after all, I'm sure I can handle it."

She managed to smile in a way she hoped put the matter to rest. When Sakura gave a somewhat uneasy one in return she figured there would be no arguments about it.

"Well, alright. As long as you're not pushing yourself."

The sternness at her words made Asuna chuckle a little. As if entertaining her nephew could count as pushing herself after what she had been through. She spent fifteen years on her own fighting a war, this was nothing.

"Avatar's promise." She said raising a hand in a mock salute. "I might not be fighting fit to you lot, but this is the best I've felt in years. I'm sure I can manage, but I did promise I would rest, so I'll take it slow. You have my word."

"Well, that's a relief."

Despite her words, Sakura looked anything but relieved. Asuna took another note of how her green eyes shifted to that satchel as though the contents were doing more than weighing her down physically.

It wasn't appropriate for her to pry, so Asuna finished her glass and filled one for Sakura. Placing it on the counter in front of her seemed to shake out whatever thought that was plaguing the girl.

She took it without question and sighed.

"You seem a little worn out yourself Sakura."

Asuna watched her shrug before she downed the glass of water. There was no cause to push for a response, so Asuna shifted and began scanning the kitchen for something to eat. She would have to go shopping obviously. This extra energy was going to be troublesome, she could tell already.

"Well, I'll put myself together a bit and head out. Why don't you go rest yourself? I'll be just fine."

Sakura still seemed a little perturbed but offered a more genuine smile at least.

"A rest does sound good…"

She shouldered the bag and made for the door. Asuna guessed maybe she wasn't the only one who was tired.

"I'll come back to check on you later then m'lady."

"What have I told you about the Lady part?"

She watched the younger girl chuckle a little before she moved. Asuna didn't take too much notice as Sakura paused, stopping just beside the door. Perhaps a moment of silence passed but Asuna was still rummaging through cupboards, making mental notes of all the things she would need to gather in the upcoming day.

"I'm so glad he was right…"

It was little more than a murmur when Sakura had said it, but it was enough for Asuna to snap her attention over to her. And she realized where exactly the young girl had paused. In front of the only photograph that Asuna had on display.

"Hmm?"

Sakura didn't take her eyes from the picture.

"Kakashi sensei, I mean… He told me it might take a week of rest for you to be back up and running, honestly I didn't believe him…"

Asuna didn't have all the facts, but she couldn't find it in herself to blame the girl for not believing a word he said. Even if it was well meaning, Kashi had a knack for excuses after all, one that seemed to have escalated over the years.

"...but he was right. Guess he still knows you pretty well huh?"

Sakura turned with a smile that was all innocence and Asuna immediately smiled herself, though she had a curious feeling that she was being gently probed for information.

For the first time since she'd started speaking with Sakura, Asuna was suddenly back to her usual loss for words. Old habits were hard to break. With another small tittle the medic took the two steps to the door and turned the handle.

"See ya, Aunty! I'll swing by later!"

 _Aunty._ It was at least better than 'Lady' making her sound like an old maid. Though it still made her sound like a maid of some description.

And almost for the first time since her return to the village, over a week ago, Asuna found herself completely alone in her apartment. Standing rooted to the spot for the second, wondering exactly what had just transpired and whether or not she should be concerned.

She shifted her vacant gaze to the old picture on the wall, lingering on the point where Kakashi's hand connected with hers. Images recalled themselves of the way he'd touched her just before he left and suddenly she felt the need to be moving.

There were things that needed to be done and she wanted to take advantage of the spike in energy while she had the chance. To prove to herself that she still had energy enough for these things…

She would be ready by the time he got back. Ready for whatever he was going to throw at her. All the truths and hidden things he wanted to get out in the open.

But that way he'd stolen her breath with one kiss…

They needed to get the talking out of the way quickly, for both their sakes. Asuna turned the shower on harder than necessary, cold. She was going to be prepared for however far he wanted to take things. In the past she had never sought to push his already tender boundaries, so that was what she would continue to do.

Kashi didn't deserve to be pushed if it made him uncomfortable, he had lost enough, and she knew that well. He had already let her in further than she had ever dared to hope for.

Asuna ran her hands through her wet hair and rubbed the lingering smile from her face with vigour. At least the day promised to be interesting. By the time she stepped out of the shower she could feel that urge again to get the ball rolling on the next part of the plan.

Distract Naruto. She mumbled quietly to herself as she locked the door behind her.

"Now for the tricky part."

Every breath, every step, was one closer.

But each and every time it pained him. It had started in his chest but now it reverberated through his whole body. Muscles, joints, all aching and screaming for some kind of reprieve.

But Kakashi would not stop. Not now.

It was his mind that was the most weary. Overtired from constantly debating whether he should ignore the designated pit stop, to paranoia about being followed. Unfortunately his hunch had proved to be correct, which only added to the fatigue, as he now found himself _another_ day behind schedule.

Finding the rendezvous point with Master Jiraiya had been tricky in itself, and he had made sure to be thorough in the information they conversed about. It had all taken an unexpected amount of time. But he knew, before he'd even left on this mission, it needed to be done properly. The threat was very real and closer to them than ever.

It might have been three days, or even four, but he hadn't stopped moving throughout. Now was the home stretch and he so desperately wanted to make it back there in one piece and quickly.

The destruction he'd stumbled across in the Land of Earth had only made it feel more like a war, and unease had begun to dig its claws into his mind. Added to the impatience that already was tugging at him…

Weary was definitely the word for it.

It was dangerous to be this foggy on a mission, he'd been hit once already, the pain in his left shoulder throbbed to remind him. But this was all nothing.

 _Nothing._

Compared to what she must have felt on that home stretch this was laughable. Compared to the pain she must have endured over those years fighting to make her way back to home, this was infinitesimal.

And when he thought about it, he himself had suffered worse over the years. If he could just persist at this pace for a while longer, he would be back in the village within the next day. It did not occur to him that moving at this rate, like a beast possessed, would take its toll. And if the thought did occur to him he just didn't care to indulge it.

 _Keep moving._

The words ran through his mind so many times that they occasionally sounded as if they were coming not from himself but from another person. Like he was being urged on by others not with him.

 _Keep moving._

Things had gotten thoroughly out of hand.

Asuna mused that it could be entirely worse, and it was in fact all her own doing in the first place. But the thought didn't offer her much solace as she awkwardly carried the grocery bags down the street.

Physical strength to carry them wasn't an issue, it was just the sheer number that made her certain that any passersby would assume she was a walking pile of shopping bags. Thus far she had avoided actually bumping or crashing into anyone, and that was only thanks to her earth mapping abilities. And sheer dumb luck.

But that wasn't going to stop the occasional bag or item tumbling out of her grasp.

"Here, you dropped something."

Asuna felt the familiar chakra signature with a smile.

"Thanks Sakura, just put it…. wherever there's room."

"Aunty Asuna? Is that you under there?"

Sakura shifted a bag to reveal the avatar's face.

"Guilty as charged. Good morning dear."

The medic began to fuss immediately.

"Here let me help, I'll carry some of these for you…"

"Thanks. I'll take you up on that offer."

With a sigh of relief the girl relieved her of at least half the bags, so now at least Asuna looked semi normal. Sakura chuckled a little as she spoke.

"What's with all this? Don't tell me…" the chuckling abruptly ceased and turned to shock, "this isn't all for tonight surely?!"

They started walking.

"Well, mostly for tonight, but I may have gone a little overboard…"

"A little?" Sakura replied with a scoff, "this is far too much for just me and Naruto."

Asuna faltered in her step for just a second.

"Ah. Well, y'see, it started out as just the three of us. Then I ran into Iruka so naturally…."

"You got suckered in huh."

Sakura deadpanned but Asuna wasn't even finished yet.

"I couldn't _not_ invite him, and then while I was… ah… showing Naruto something…"

"Overdoing it." Sakura deadpanned again as they rounded the corner to the house.

"Tenz… I mean Yamato, and Sai, turned up. So…"

"Yeah, you definitely got suckered in."

Sakura laughed a little.

"And I promised you I wouldn't overdo it, and I swear I haven't. I was just distracting Naruto a little."

"Uh huh."

Sakura sounded disbelieving as they wandered up the path to the house. But all the same, the girl looked like she would burst at the seams with laughter any second. The grin on her face was priceless. Perhaps it was that smile that put Asuna at ease enough to talk with her so casually like this, something she would never have done fifteen years ago to be sure. Perhaps it had to do with all the time she'd been spending with Naruto.

"Anyway, I've left Kyros and Naruto with the rest of the stuff to bring later."

"The rest of...? You've got to be kidding!"  
Sakura eyed her incredulously as Asuna placed the bags on the porch and rummaged for her keys. Finally succeeding with a slight of hand and metal bending that thankfully Sakura didn't notice.

"Well, if I'm honest at least a third of these are gifts... "

"Gifts?"

They piled the bags through the open door and onto the kitchen counter. Some spilling out onto the stools.

"It's an avatar thing. The more people you help, the more they like to give you things."

Asuna held up a charming cushion that the vendor _insisted_ she take at payment for helping him find his way home years ago. Using the word charming loosely. She raised an eyebrow and threw the thing at Sakura.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but sometimes it's better just to take the offering and be done with it. You can have that if you want…"

It was now Sakura's turn to raise an eyebrow in curious disgust, and Asuna found she was almost laughing herself.

"No, thank you. But what's with all this other stuff? Even two thirds of this is too much, and Naruto is bringing more…"

"That I have no excuse for, I've just overdone it. But to be fair I was half expecting other people to invite themselves…"

She had purposely avoided any routes today that might result in running into Guy. But if she was completely honest, she'd been hoping for _someone else's_ return before night fall. It was wishful thinking for the most part. Sakura was no fool, she shot a gaze through the open door to the apartment across the way as if she followed Asuna's own thoughts.

"Kakashi sensei's still not back yet, huh…"

Asuna shook her head as Sakura shifted to gather the rest of the bags and shut the door.

One major threat to the village aside, it had been a semi eventful few days in his absence. Two of them she'd slept right through, but the next four had been much, much longer. Asuna was still enjoying herself and the company of her nephew and his friends, but every time she found herself alone in that house, there was only one person she was thinking of.

The way he'd held her, kissed her, whispered those quiet things in her ear before he left… She would be ready for when he got back, she wouldn't play the startled mouse any longer. At least that was the conclusion she'd reached in the last week.

"He was due back yesterday wasn't he?"

"The day before yesterday, I think. Something must have come up, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Sakura gave her that disbelieving look from before.

Asuna couldn't help that the reassuring words she'd said didn't match the look on her face. The medic began shifting bags from the floor to the other benchtop behind Asuna, and all she could do was wonder if this was how Kakashi had felt, waiting for her to come home all those years. It was enough to make her disbelieve the feelings he obviously still had for her. How could he still feel that way, how could he not hate her?

She shook her head a little violently, remembering the task at hand. There was a dinner that she had to cook for, it had turned into a veritable party at this point. Asuna would have to quell her thoughts for the time being.

 _But what happens after they all leave…_

It was less of a question and more of a disturbing realization from her inner self that she would have to face these feelings at some point.

"Now, let me get a look at you, now that there isn't a hundred bags in the way…"

Sakura distracted her from the troubling thoughts.

"Oh, I'm just fine, there's no need…"

"Don't be silly. Lady Tsunade ordered me to take care of you, and I promised Kakashi sensei I would keep an eye on you too."

Asuna would have rolled her eyes if she didn't think the expression was beneath her.

The medic eyed her before grabbing a wrist to take her vitals an examining the shoulder that had been injured.

"This time I think you're right though. You're doing just fine, you look really great even, did you get a haircut?"

Asuna smiled.

"Just a little off the ends. It was the first haircut I've had without using a kunai in years…"

Sakura scratched her head, much in the way her sensei did on occasion, giving her a sympathetic look. Asuna wondered what that was for but wouldn't get the chance to ask.

"I feel for you there, Aunty. I've got to check in with Shizune at the hospital, but I'll swing by early to give you a hand with everything. Looks like there will be plenty to do…"

"It's alright dear, you just make it when you can. Don't be too late though, dinner is at seven thirty. You just leave the rest to me."

She had a bittersweet flashback to Kushina saying the same thing.

This time Asuna managed to get the feeling in her words to match her smile. Sakura waved back at her as she sped out the door.

Asuna had noticed one thing in coming home, she was indeed getting old. These young people seemed to move with a speed that she no longer cared to travel at. It wasn't that she couldn't keep up if she tried, but there was no appeal. It was no wonder that Kakashi seemed like a crotchety old man compared to them all.

The smile that was still on her face faded to one of a different kind. Nervous, worried even. Patience was at least something that she was very practiced at.

She would wait, however long it took. Then she could finally talk with him properly, not just in hushed whispers and stolen kisses behind trees. The brief conversations they'd managed in private since her return had been playing through her mind like a broken record, usually leaving her with more questions than answers.

And then there was the way he'd kissed her.

They definitely needed to get the talking out of the way, and soon.

In herself Asuna was sure of exactly what she would say, the exact same thing she had told him all those years ago. Nothing had changed. From his actions Asuna could only guess at his feelings… There was still more questions than answers, and there was no point churning up her insides any further. Though she counted it a small victory that she was even feeling this way at all, for a while she'd been sure that mission had quashed any kind of feeling in her. Good or otherwise.

For a brief moment Asuna sighed and shook her head in the direction of that photo on the wall, as if it's inhabitant could actually see her. And for probably the tenth time that day she wondered what kind of trouble he'd gotten himself into now.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It's never a good sign when one reaches a point where feeling pain is actually helpful. But that was the stage he had reached.

Pain was a good thing, it meant he was still alive and capable of feeling it. So when his muscles ached and begged for him to stop, he popped a food pill and pressed on. When the small injury he'd taken on his left side throbbed, he simply tightened the makeshift bandage and picked up the pace as much as physically possible.

Kakashi's brain had shifted into an autonomous state as soon as he'd gotten close enough to the village and out of imminent danger. Vaguely he recognized he'd been growing closer to those gates, the trees were suddenly familiar, there was even a hint of Konoha's scent in the air.

 _Keep moving._

It wasn't until he was through those gates that Kakashi allowed his mind to switch back on and instantly he was regretful for surrendering his control like that. What an idiot.

Purposely concealing himself as he entered through the protective barriers, he avoided the usual routes in favour of the rooftops and back alleys. Out of sight. There was only one place he was heading for, and nothing short of an Akatsuki invasion was going to stop him. But there were measures he needed to take in order to remain undisturbed once he reached his destination.

With a few hand signs and a brief pause, Kakashi summoned Pakkun with a puff of smoke and the last of his chakra. He was only a tantalizing hundred metres or so away from his ultimate goal.

"Wow boss, you've seen better days… What do you need?"

"Thanks Pakkun. Think you could deliver this to Lady Tsunade for me? There's some place I have to be."

The dog regarded him for a moment before angling himself for Kakashi to tuck the report into his collar.

"Okay I'm on it."

"I know you won't let me down."

Pakkun paused before he made to speed away.

"Seriously though boss, you don't look good. At least get yourself cleaned up before you bother that sweet girl."

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

It was too late for any kind of retort as the pug left dust in his wake. Kakashi didn't care. He was reaching a vulnerable point now where his legs actually threatened to give way after a brief pause of movement. He dreaded to think about what would happen when he reached that door and stopped moving completely.

It was the longest hundred meters he'd ever had to walk. And much to his chagrin, walking was the only pace his legs would travel at now, as if to punish him for forcing them beyond their limit.

First came the actual view of the house.

It was enough to make his knees weak. It was also starting to get suspiciously dark around the edges for midday as well.

Second came the smells.

Not only was Asuna in the house, she was cooking something. And it was _good._ It was probably his stomach alone that got him through that last stretch up to the pathway of the house.

But he didn't turn toward his own apartment. He let out a sigh as he reached the door directly across from his own. Then he had to steady himself against the frame of it.

Lastly, came the sound. Asuna was singing to herself in there. Only a handful of times had he heard the heavenly sound before and it affected him more than he expected.

Every other noise was muted as he cracked the door open, all he could hear was the sound of her voice. Kakashi stepped inside and stood there watching her. It surprised him that she didn't notice his entry, but she was so… relaxed. She even looked different, wearing a long green skirt with a loose white shirt.

Asuna was still humming to herself, her hair tied back as she stirred something on stove top.

There were a few emotions running through Kakashi's mind, the chief one being relief. Part of him had been worried for the whole mission that she would still be laid up in bed.

Things had started to get fuzzy around the edges, he leant back against the door as it closed, shutting his visible eye for a moment.

Asuna found that she hadn't forgotten how to cook at least. She'd second guessed her outfit about five times and then eventually settled on whatever was most comfortable. Asuna had however, forgotten just how warm konoha was in the summer.

By the time midday rolled around Asuna had been semi organised. Sakura had popped in briefly, with every intention to help, but Asuna had waved her away. Sakura had brought with her the bad news that Kashi's mission had hit a snag and he would be delayed another day at least. After hearing it Asuna had been filled with a nervous kind of excitement, it was just as well Sakura had taken the hint and headed back to help Shizune. Thankfully there was plenty to do to distract Asuna from her own thoughts.

The prospect of having some answers by tomorrow evening was enough to bolster her spirits. But she couldn't help at wonder what exactly the snag may be… if he was okay… Those thoughts inevitably lead her back down an unfavourable path of questioning, one she was glad to snap out of as she heard the boiling water on the stove.

Despite her apprehensive wondering she found herself in a better mood than anticipated. It was just past two in the afternoon before she even noticed the time. There was still quite a bit left to be done, but it was all things that had to wait until later anyway. Wanting all the prep work to be out of the way as early as possible Asuna decided on placing up the table next.

 _Click_

The sound of the front door closing almost made her jump, which was not something she made a habit of. She would once have had a constant stream of chakra running to her feet to map out the area and who was in it, but she hadn't deemed it necessary now that she was home and out of danger.

Only one other person had a key to her place, and he wasn't meant to be back…

But here he was.

Asuna turned and caught sight of him, back leaning against the door, hand rubbing his visible eye with a kind of unsettling fervour. Then she saw the blood soaking through a shabby bandage on his left arm.

Asuna didn't waste any more time staring, though it could only have been for a few seconds.

"Kashi!"

"Asuna…"

Even from just the tone of his voice she could tell, he'd dramatically overdone it this time.

With a slick sleight of hand she cut the stove off without actually looking at or touching it. Firebending certainly had its uses in the kitchen. As she approached he seemed to straighten and enveloped her in his arms at once. Asuna couldn't help but hold him tightly around his middle, all the while trying to gauge exactly where else he may be injured.

At the same time there was a warmth spreading through her which could only be happiness. It was so good to have him here, in her arms, _home safe._ Asuna could have been content to stay like that in his arms for the rest of the day. Kakashi breathed in deeply as he nuzzled into her hair, inhaling like she was the only oxygen he needed.

"Welcome home." She whispered, pulling back slightly so she could see his face. It was short lived.

Kakashi surprised her for a second time, having actually already tucked that damned mask under his chin. For a fleeting second she recognised the gleam in his eye, the way he looked at her like she was the only thing he ever wanted to see. Asuna couldn't help the blushing smile on her face.

All her previous questions and worries disappeared when he quickly bridged the gap between them and touched his lips to hers. She met him halfway. Asuna's earlier conviction about not being a startled mouse came to mind, so she responded keenly.

It wasn't like the desperate or lingering kisses of the week before. But it was hungry all the same, the demanding way their mouths met. In his exhaustion Kakashi hadn't shifted the arms that were locked around her, the only moving part of him was his lips melding with hers as she, for once, took control of the situation.

There was something nagging her about the way he was holding himself.

With a clever movement she glided her hands up to cup his face gently, passing over his obviously injured side briefly. Either he was too caught up in the kiss to notice, or he was too tired, but the chakra she sent to her fingertips was lost on him.

Her first order of business had been to staunch the bleeding.

Coaxing him into a slow and tender pace Asuna put as much feeling into it as she could, wanting _desperately_ for him to know the truth. How worried she'd been, how much she loved being able to touch him like this, but most of all, just how sorry she was all over again for being gone for so long herself. Even if he'd forgiven her immediately, there was still apart of her that wanted, _needed,_ to make it up to him. Asuna was just glad that her brain hadn't switched off completely at the touch of his lips like it had before.

When they finally broke for air and he rested his forehead to hers, Asuna could feel his hands gripping her sides deliciously. He had been deliberately trying not to move them and she could tell. The thought made her smile a little darkly.

Kakashi's uncovered eye half lidded met hers.

She noticed he made that little coughing noise before he spoke again, he seemed to do it after each time they kissed, like it made his body forget how to speak altogether.

"Well that's the best welcome home present I've ever gotten…"

That look in his eye, with that husky voice would've been enough to make her melt into him a week ago. But he just sounded so _tired._ Remaining in his hold she pulled her head right back and dropped her hands to his shoulders. Casually hiding the chakra she was trying to pour into him.

"I'd just heard you weren't getting back until tomorrow, you didn't do anything reckless now did you?"

Asuna had anticipated the smirk, but she had underestimated how delectable it would look without the mask on, and after silencing that mouth with her own just seconds ago it was all she could do not to jump him as soon as his lips moved.

"Nothing reckless. I promise, maybe a little overzealous…"

He shifted his hand to brush his fingers down her cheek, his thumb lingering close to her bottom lip. Even in this state he managed to maintain that infamous charisma, drawing her face closer to his, fingers resting on her chin tilting her up ever so slightly.

"I'm glad you're back…" was all she managed for a second, watching that deceptively calm expression on his face, "you look exhausted."

Kakashi was an expert at hiding emotions, and she knew this. When they were younger she would quite often be able to pick exactly what he was feeling by being able to read every emotion he _wasn't_ showing. It was a combination of many shinobi teachings that had allowed him to develop the technique.

But this was something he hadn't even tried to hide.

It didn't bode well and Asuna was now wondering just how long exactly he would remain standing for. But he wasn't moving yet, and that way he was looking at her… It set fire to parts of her that she had long thought extinct.

"Well, I was worried… And then there were these rumours about a threat to the village so I hurried back… Looks like I was worried for nothing…"

He paused, his mouth still open as if he were actually trying to force the words to tumble from his lips.

"You look beautiful, Asuna."

She was sure she went a very bright shade of red, there was no attempt to hide it, the way he was leaning her face towards his. Nothing could have prepared her for that statement.

 _He must really be tired._

"I just rested, like you said…"

"Good."

She offered him, what she thought at least, was her very best seductive smile. Then made an attempt to change the subject. Thank goodness she had learnt a few tricks from Naruto and his friends this week, she needed to get him to rest, and fast. Thank goodness Sakura was arriving early as well, Asuna couldn't be sure exactly how long her chakra hold would stop the bleeding. And it appeared too deep a wound to heal on its own.

"Naruto actually took care of that threat you mentioned, I was just a civilian bystander, completely helpless…"

Kakashi sighed in contentment and gave her a side smile that reignited the blush on her face. She had utterly forgotten how disarmingly handsome he was. She'd been too busy in her youth to fully appreciate it, and maybe the separation had made her reaction to it more intense now that he was in front of her again. She wasn't sure.

"Naruto huh. Well that's a relief…"

As he said it she felt the energy within him drop to an alarming level through the chakra she was still pouring into him through her fingers. The wound would probably stay shut for a while now at least. She was confident that he was on the verge of passing out from chakra depletion alone. But he was still looking at her like that… In a way she could not fathom. And those pesky questions began to brew in her mind once more.

With what she considered the most stern expression in her arsenal she watched him when her hands reluctantly wrenched his from her body.

Kakashi was now barely standing there unsupported, she didn't know whether to hit him or hug the life out of him. Keeping a grip on his wrists she shifted herself so that he was leaning on her a little.

"Come on. Let's get you fixed up."

"What are you talking about, I'm completely fine."

But he made no protest at the deadpan look she shot him, and again didn't struggle as she lead him out the door and toward his own apartment.

It was when Asuna opened the door to his place that she finally realized, she hadn't actually been in there since her return to the village. A flutter of something crossed her stomach. Nervousness perhaps? She wasn't sure. Asuna had forgotten what that felt like entirely but that was all it could have been.

As soon as his lips had met with hers Kakashi had felt every ounce of energy he had left escape from him. With a tinge of regret he allowed Asuna to lead him to his apartment, a vice grip on his hand that made him very nostalgic.

He blinked and suddenly felt mattress beneath him, sitting at the end of the bed, he almost wondered how he had gotten there. But, he had a suspicion that he was close to passing out at this point. It was harder to maintain any focus at all now.

Why had he been so reckless and exhausted himself?

As if reading his thoughts Asuna smiled at him in a way that very nearly knocked him out. She was the reason he'd pushed himself.

 _Worth it._

Just for that smile alone. And the way she'd kissed him downstairs… His mind wandered.

Had she been saying something? He couldn't even tell.

"Huh?"

Even the sound from his own mouth was muffled.

Asuna smiled again and shook her head. At least she was smiling, so he was probably off the hook. Standing in between his legs now she leant closer keeping her eye contact with him, his reaction was so slow by the time he went to embrace her Asuna had simply removed his headband and stepped back.

Lazily Kakashi watched her fold it and place it on the side table, exactly where he always did on the rare occasion he wasn't wearing it.

 _She remembered that huh._

It was like his whole body had frozen and all he could do was watch her. But he didn't mind so much, even if he wanted to touch her his body wasn't exactly obeying him anymore.

But that was dangerous in itself.

By the time the thought had occurred, Asuna had seated herself right next to him on the bed and taken his hand. She wasn't looking in his eyes like before, she simply watched what she was doing, removing the glove from his right hand. She leant over to take the other one and Kakashi found himself so close to her face. It took a little longer for this one, or maybe she was lingering...he wasn't sure.

He stared at her eyes as they concentrated on the task at hand, his gaze drifted to her lips and he felt his body shift forward slightly breathing her in.

Whether she noticed him move or not was lost on him, she'd already moved away faster than he could comprehend in his current state. Being on the edge of chakra exhaustion was never something he enjoyed, losing control of his senses was not very shinobi like in the least. And control was very important to him.

Asuna carefully placed the gloves in the appropriate hamper and he had to wonder again at how she remembered his exact, _almost_ ritual, after fifteen years. But he supposed this was something she had done for him before quite a few times…

Although now it had a completely different feel to it.

When she touched him it was like he could feel actual warmth seeping into him where they connected, and it was so pleasant, _too pleasant._

What made it infinitely worse was that she smelt _so good,_ this was heightened with the mask pooled around his neck and not covering his nostrils. When she stepped in front of him again and all but sat in his lap Kakashi felt his heart rate elevate to something he considered probably life threatening. But he did not care in the slightest.

Swallowing thickly as her face inched ever closer to his, he wondered if he had already died and gone to some version of the afterlife. Asuna's hands came up to the zipper on his flack jacket and very slowly (at least it felt that way to him) tugged it down. When her eyes dashed to his face briefly, falling down to his lips and back to her hands it was all he could do not to increase the momentum. Pull her closer to him, slide his hands up that damned skirt of hers.

It was just as well he was not exhausted beyond all rational thought, but that line was starting to become a hazy blur that would be all too easy to cross.

Kakashi's open eye rolled back into his head a little as she pushed the thing off his shoulders. What he didn't expect was for her to continue to push him until he was laying on the bed, his feet still planted on the floor. It couldn't have been too harsh a push because the pain from the larger of his wounds hadn't resurfaced.

Perhaps he was just too close to passing out. Or he was already and this was all a dream. But that scent, that touch, _that was real._

And it was so good.

Kakashi barely registered what she had done with the jacket, he was only concentrating on controlling the urges that seemed to pool at the lower half of his body. That warmth was all concentrated to one place and he didn't want to push that line with her, just yet at least.

He needed to sit up and take control.

This, at least to him, did not feel like the innocent way she'd taken care of him in the past after a bad mission. Though it was the exact same routine as before, he wondered if she felt it too.

He had to make her realize before he did something he'd regret later.

That was the thought that gave Kakashi something like a second wind of energy, at least enough to sit himself up. Still hazy, by the time he'd shaken his other senses awake Asuna was standing in between his legs at the edge of the bed.

Remembering what her next course of action would be, Kakashi beat her to it, grabbing the hem of his long sleeved shirt and pulling it over his head. For a moment Asuna helped him before tossing the shirt toward the basket. Wearing the standard issue Anbu vest, with mask attachment, the wound he'd taken to his left side was wholly visible.

But he just didn't care about that right now.

What he needed, was for Asuna to stop before he acted in delirium. Even if he wanted her to keep touching him. It had to stop. Fast.

Still standing in between his legs, where she'd stayed after removing his outer layers, her chest was at his eye level as he sat. As soon as fabric had stopped blocking his vision as it briefly passed over his head, his eyes had landed squarely at her collarbone. As close as she was, Kakashi only needed to inch his head forward, and he desperately wanted to lather kisses along that neck of hers. It was just so tempting, if a little carnivorous, he felt like an animal eyeing up a tasty treat.

"Can you hear me Kashi?"

Her voice penetrated the white noise that had been ringing in his ears.

"Hmm…"

It was neither a yes or no response as he breathed in deeply, leaning closer to her.

Asuna brought her hands up to cup his cheeks, directing his attention to her face, she wore a look of concern. It was replaced with a smile and a blush when he offered her a dark smirk.

"Were you saying something?"

It came out deep as he intended, not hiding any of the urges that she'd brought out in him. For effect he found both his hands running up the sides of her legs, over that damned skirt to rest on her hips, ungloved he could feel her warmth so much better. Eyes forced on her face like this he could gauge her reaction to his touch well also. And he liked what he saw. Too much.

Instantly that smile on her lips had faded a little and her eyes lidded with the same desire that he felt. He could tell. It was his own heated look reflected back at him tenfold.

"You need to sleep…"

One of Asuna's hands wandered from his cheek to his hair, threading her fingers through it. It was all Kakashi could do to keep his eye open at this stage, and it may have rolled back into his head a little at the sensation. It had probably been his doing, but in his haze Kakashi noticed just how close they were to each other. It was the scent of her hair, the smell of her skin, that way she was beginning to slowly lean down to him.

It was too much.

It was too hot.

The way those treacherous hands and fingers of hers were now deliciously massaging his scalp, tugging his hair in a way that sent heat to his groin. A weaker man might have whimpered at this touch, and when his body involuntarily leaned closer, nuzzling into the crook of her neck he swore he'd had to bite back whatever noise threatened to come out.

With more self restraint than he thought himself capable of in this current state, Kakashi shifted his hands, running them down her arms from her elbows, and taking a firm hold of her wrists. Not enough to hurt her, but just enough to make her stop.

Kakashi pulled his head back and she met his eye, looking down onto his face.

He had to make her realize. He touched his forehead to hers. What he wanted to say and the words that actually came out were two very different things.

 _I want to do this in the right order when we're both ready, I don't want to rush, but… I want you._

"You need to stop, before I can't stop myself."

They came out in a darker form of a whisper. Kakashi watched Asuna's eyes widen imperceptibly as he very carefully, and slowly, pulled her hands from their resting spot on his face. As much as he wanted their warmth on his body he was not willing to pay the price for rushing into things. Not in his current state where he wasn't sure exactly when his body would give out.

With an amused smirk, one that he'd rarely seen grace her features unless it was at his expense, Asuna's eyes held a glimmer of mischief. Or was it something else? Something a bit more carnal than he could ever have imagined, exhausted or not.

Their eyes were locked for an indeterminate amount of time, it was heated, Kakashi not exactly sure how she would take his statement was unwilling to break the contact.

She seemed to have understood just how much he wanted her.

When a kind of giggle escaped her the sound alone very nearly drove him over the edge. But he was too tired. And she knew that too.

With possibly the most smouldering look he'd ever seen on her face, Asuna winked, kissed him on his forehead and abruptly turned on her heels toward the bathroom. It left him reeling for a second.

"Fine. Shower, then _sleep_ for god's sake Kashi."

She was already turning the shower on in the bathroom, talking to him loudly through the open door.

"See me later and I'll fix you something to eat."

That was the last thing he heard her say as she veritably yanked him up off the bed and shoved him toward the bathroom.

"Yeah yeah."

He mumbled before turning to shut the door, unsure how long he'd be able to take the warmth of the water and steam before passing out properly. That had probably been her plan from the get-go. Before he snapped the door shut he tentatively spoke to the back of her retreating head.

"Asuna…" She turned and regarded him with a different kind of smile, one that was more tender than before. "Thank you…"

Her grin widened and she waved him off as she continued out the door.

Kakashi was immediately pleased, and almost congratulating himself, on not acting too boldly on those earlier urges. He was also thankful for the second wind of energy that had come from no where seemingly, he suspected just seeing and touching Asuna had something to do with it.

Then he wondered if maybe there was something else to it... he tried to shake that sinister thought. But as he hazily stripped what was left of his clothes and examined the worst of his wounds, he had to wonder if perhaps she had done a little more than just partially undress him. The bleeding had stopped, and it appeared to be closing nicely despite the pain from earlier, the water also lacked its usual stinging affect.

Shaking his head under the jets, trying to hold on to whatever consciousness he had left, Kakashi had already decided he wouldn't be sleeping until he checked on her again. Just to be sure. No matter how much his body would be screaming at him sooner or later to rest.

He had to keep moving.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Asuna glanced at the clock on the wall as she sped into her own apartment, leaving the door wide open. She'd have to check on that idiot again soon just to be safe. But she was pleased at the amount of healing she'd been able to administer without him actually realizing. Though it would be short lived, he was a genius after all. By the time he figured it out Sakura would be here and she could take the credit, Asuna hoped so anyway.

She went back to setting up the place for the evening, managing to get the table organized in the time it took the water to boil again. The half hour she had spent tending to Kashi had certainly made her a little more short for time. But not to a worrying degree yet. And as she set an extra place at the table for him there was certainly a little more spring in her step. Though she would never admit it to herself.

Humming quietly as she cut some vegetables in preparation Asuna distinctly heard the shower turn off next door. Naruto was right, she'd never really noticed how thin the walls were in this place. It didn't exactly bother her though.

By the time the clock struck three Asuna was back on track as far as the dinner plans went. Leaning over the kitchen counter and thumbing through one of the handwritten scribbles of a recipe book she'd penned in her youth long ago, she silently wished that she had spent more time writing it out legibly.

Concentrating as hard as she was Asuna failed to notice the sound of footsteps and a door closing.

That was until the warmth of another person ghosted her from behind, but the initial unwelcomed shock and plunging anxiety was replaced by a safe and secure feeling that she only knew with one other person.

"Why does it smell so good in here?"

He'd mumbled the words into her neck through her hair, hugging her around her middle and inhaling deeply. Asuna almost flushed at the thought that he might not talking about her cooking.

"And why is there _so_ much food?"

She made a kind of giggling noise she didn't know she was capable of.

"I'll have you know that you're crashing the prep work for a very important dinner party…"

When his chuckle vibrated down her neck she was sure she was blushing. She chose not to answer him about why it smelt good in there, she had too much to do to play with those sensitive boundaries right now. Even if Kashi appeared happy to be this close to her again.

"Are you cooking for _all_ of Konoha?"

The teasing continued, she did feel the way he was slightly leaning into her more. Chakra exhaustion was a fickle thing, and he was going to be paying for it sooner or later.

"Well, it started with just Naruto and Sakura… then I ran into Yamato and Sai…. then Iruka… and now you, I guess."

"You got suckered in, huh."

Asuna almost laughed, it was beginning to get a little hard to concentrate on anything having him this close to her. His hot breath down her neck. And he really _really_ needed to rest properly. Asuna abandoned any attempt to focus on the task at hand with a sigh. Leaning back into him and drinking it the contended warmth around her.

"I wouldn't say that…" she mused thoughtfully, "but now that you're here, Guy will probably turn up."

Asuna could feel his expression drop even though she wasn't looking directly at him.

There was a pause before he quietly sighed and buried his face further into her hair, very faintly Asuna thought she heard him mumble something along the lines of, don't jinx it. But it was hard to tell, even as far as mumbles went it wasn't exactly coherent

The arms that were locked around her waist began to drop ever so slightly, and he was very nearly relying on her to keep himself standing. It was time to force him to rest, it would be the only way. With a sigh, and a reluctant flashback to their Anbu days, Asuna shifted and took hold of his hands.

Kakashi stiffened a fraction, hazily regarding her as she spun around to face him.

"Go, sit. I'll bring you something."

Physically turning him around and pushing him in the direction of the couch there was a smirk playing on her face. This had been the exact situation but in reverse that night she arrived back in the village. She didn't take her eyes off him until he was near the sofa, the familiar squeak her cue to continue what she had been doing.

Asuna caught herself humming an old tune that seemed to be stuck in her head that day, turning to fill the kettle in the sink. She was taken aback when her eyes wandered inevitably to the man on her couch, only to find him staring intently at her.

It was a look she could not fathom.

One that sent her insides into a whirlwind, though she could discern the slightest of smiles beneath the mask, it was still a look she was not familiar with.

So she did just about the only thing she could think to do, which was to smile back.

The kettle filled, she turned back to the stove top, quickly stirring something as she set it down.

"You're singing a lot today."

His words were very quiet, and she let out a kind of huff in amusement.

Leave it to him to notice something like that. While it took her a few seconds to actually process his words, she couldn't formulate any kind of answer no matter how hard she tried. By the time the water had boiled and she'd poured it into the waiting cup there was no need to answer.

When she turned he was already asleep, head lolling to one side of the couch. It didn't look exactly comfortable. Asuna took a closer look while she wandered over and retrieved the blanket stowed underneath the sofa.

Wearing that ridiculous mask attached vest and jounin track pants she could plainly see the injuries he'd sustained over the last few days. A few minor bruises. But it was this knife wound to the left shoulder that had her bothered. As she regarded him the bleeding unpaused itself, her little trick had lasted just long enough.

Now it would just be a matter of waiting for Sakura to get here. She would rebandage it in the meantime.

Asuna's bathroom had been restocked minimally by Kashi before she'd arrived home, but she'd had plenty of time herself during the week to return it to its former glory. Which was a veritable pharmacy.

With a small chuckle and a brief moment of nostalgia Asuna could almost see Kashi in full Anbu uniform, sitting on the stool in that bathroom, waiting _almost_ patiently while she tended to him. It became almost a ritual on the times that they were teamed together, and it was suddenly funny to her that she'd never thought about it much before now. Still smiling a little to herself Asuna returned to tie the bandage tightly around that wound, she guessed there was about zero chance of waking him at this point. He'd succumbed to it, _finally._

But she still had to wonder at that look and what had been behind it. And why it had taken him so long to give in to the exhaustion, it was all a bit _strange._

A sudden rap against the door almost made her jump.

She quickly tied the knot before jumping back to action. It was almost showtime, though she wasn't exactly expecting anyone yet. With a careful hand the blanket was draped over Kashi, Asuna contemplated moving him but the tapping at the door started again.

"Coming."

She called in a sing-song voice so unlike her tone from earlier in the week. There was even a spring in her step.

When she opened the door to seemingly no one the good mood disappeared as quickly as she had recognized it. It was the panting at her feet that finally caught her attention. Her promise to limit her chakra use was beginning to seriously bother her, being unable to sense even this presence was ridiculous.

"Hay Asuna."

The pug held up a paw in greeting, panting a little.

"Pakkun, good to see you."

With a smile Asuna crouched down and ruffled the summons head gently, he seemed to respond happily before turning serious in an instant.

"Boss is in here."

It wasn't a question, he knew he was here. Asuna stepped aside and gestured for him to follow. While the dog curiously sniffed his master, she put some water in a bowl for him out of some long forgotten habit.

"I knew he was injured, but there was no stopping him from coming here first. Thanks…"

Pakkun lapped up from the bowl she placed next to him. Unsure on what to say, Asuna could understand the drive behind why Kashi would feel the need to come home first. And it was a _need._

She had always felt the same, _he was home_ to her still after all these years. Asuna wondered if these were the same feelings he'd had but she couldn't tell for certain.

That look, that darkness in his voice as she'd touched him, it wasn't the usual…

"Anyway, thanks for patching him up. You're good for him you know, I'm glad he has you again."

Asuna shifted her concentration from Kashi to the dog.

"It goes both ways Pakkun."

She wasn't quite sure in her own words but the pug continued regardless.

"He doesn't think so. He always felt guilty that he took so much from you when you were young. Not that he said much about it, but I got that vibe from him. That and something he said about making it up to you."

"That idiot."

The words dropped out her mouth before she could check them. Pakkun shot a glance her way so she would elaborate. With a sigh she continued.

"It was never… it has never been so one sided. He thinks he never did anything for me but far from it… I wish I could explain it better. But it was just having him around that changed something in me, for the better I think. And it made me want to fix whatever was hurting him…. It doesn't make much sense."

"No, it makes perfect sense."

Pakkun gave her what she considered the dog version of a smile. So she smiled back.

"I wish he hadn't been so reckless though."

There was a grumble of agreement.

"Same here. I'll leave him to you then."

Asuna nodded and assumed the pug would take his leave, but he spoke again.

"Oh, and Asuna, you look beautiful."

There it was. That pug smile that was so sweet and strange at the same time. She may have blushed before he almost smirked and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Could dogs even smirk?

There was no chance to finish the thought as a boisterous yelling reached her ears, and then the sounds of footsteps up the path.

"Aunty, Aunty… Wow it smells good in here..."

The out of breath blond was panting in the door frame, crouched over with his eyes closed. It seemed that some kind of news was imminent. Picking up the now empty bowl from the floor she carried it over to the bench before reaching her nephew.

"You alright there Naruto?"

When he looked up his eyes were shining and his smile was brilliant, _at least the news was good,_ she thought to herself.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, just had to beat Guy sensei from getting here. He was right behind me but I think Sakura has distracted him."

Her head tilted, confused she peered out the door past Naruto, before grabbing him by the arm and dragging him into the apartment. Closing the door swiftly behind him.

"Guy was on his way here? He didn't find out about tonight did he…"

A considerably darker aura surrounded her, one that was reminiscent of her sisters.

"Well, no that's not it at all, I didn't tell you the best part…"

Asuna sighed in relief, her eye darting toward the currently passed out Kakashi Hatake on her sofa, the noise hadn't disturbed him by the looks but the blanket had shifted. Naruto continued to talk, not paying much attention to anything else as she made her way back to the couch to tuck him back in.

"Well, there's two good parts actually, the first part was that I beat Guy sensei, and the second… What the hell?"

Naruto finally opened his eyes enough to follow her movements. She'd tucked the blanket back around the copy ninja, examining his wound briefly before looking back to her nephew.

"And the second part?"

The blond shook his head.

"The second part was that we saw Pakkun with Granny Tsunade… When did he get back? Yo Kaka-sensei!"

Asuna shook her head, she was sure that nothing short of an actual tornado going through her living room would wake him at this point.

"He collapsed on the doorstep half an hour ago… Idiot."

Naruto examined his sensei from where he stood, raising an eyebrow.

"He doesn't look good Aunty…"

"Mmm. I've done what I can, you said Sakura was on her way right?"

He nodded and Asuna released a sigh she didn't realize was trying to escape her.

"He's fine Naruto, let this be a lesson to you in chakra exhaustion though."

Naruto let out an amused snort.

"Yeah, he's given plenty of lessons in chakra exhaustion, don't worry about that Aunty. "

Asuna smiled to herself returning back to the kitchen, Naruto followed her and took a seat at the counter.

"Is that why you came over so early hnn? With news?"

"Yeah, Sakura said that she heard Kakashi sensei was running behind and would be another day away. But here he is… The guy is never early so it doesn't feel right. But I thought some news might cheer you up!"

Asuna smiled and continued in the kitchen, checking on the oven with a careful eye on the time and the stovetop. Why they felt the need to cheer her up she wasn't sure. At least the slow cooker dessert only needed to be turned on later and forgotten about until serving…

Naruto was rolling up his sleeves and it caught her attention.

"Now, what can I do to help?"

With an amused kind of huff she started thinking of mundane things to keep him occupied. Slicing carrots seemed to be a good job, it appeared she was getting much better at this whole 'distract Naruto' game that everyone seemed to loathe.

Sakura was breathing harshly as she reached the footpath to the avatar's home. It had taken all her skill as a trained medic and kunoichi to successfully distract Guy sensei, and even then she'd thrown in the use of her womanly wiles. Lee had been very obliging in that regard thank goodness. It had still taken her an hour longer than she'd intended, she wasn't even certain of the time when she finally knocked on the door.

Sakura was definitely sure she could hear laughter through the wood even before it opened.

"She's here!"

Naruto choroused from his spot at the counter, sitting next to a waving Iruka.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to take a little detour just to be safe."

Asuna grinned at her in a way that almost made Sakura blush, even though she'd seen her this morning, there was something about Asuna tonight that was different.

"You look great Lady… I mean… Aunty Asuna."

Sakura smiled back and was promptly ushered into the house.

"Thanks Sakura, and you're far from late dear, it's only six."

That wasn't the point and Sakura knew that Asuna knew that too, she had wanted to help with things. Especially as Naruto was undoubtedly going to hinder preparations.

It was at this point that she noted Sai and Yamato talking at the table, they waved and nodded in her direction and she smiled back. It seemed everyone had the same idea that she'd had. Asuna had deposited her apron in the kitchen and shared…. _a look_ with Naruto, it was only brief but it seemed they were communicating without words before the blond went back to loudly talking to everyone in the room.

Sakura didn't have a chance to ask what that had all been about, Asuna had uncharacteristically, or at least from what Sakura knew of the woman, linked her arm into hers.

"I'm glad everyone is here to help you anyway, even if I wanted to be here earlier to do it."

Sakura spoke as Asuna began leading her somewhere, Naruto laughing so loudly she almost didn't hear her reply. Perhaps it had been intentional.

"Speaking of help you're not out of the woods just yet, there is something I need you to take a look at."

Sakura's eyes went wide and immediately started looking the woman up and down for injury, but she seemed fine. So much healthier this week than the last.

"Of course…"

She'd almost called her 'Lady' again but at least this time she managed to stop herself before she'd started.

It was all very secretive as Asuna lead her to the bedroom door, sliding it open and pulling her quickly inside while all attention was turned to Naruto.

Sakura didn't know what she had been expecting, but she certainly was not expecting the still figure that was lying on the bed. Asuna clicked the door shut and went to turn on the bedside lamps, but Sakura didn't need better lighting to know exactly who it was.

"Kakashi sensei?"

Sakura adopted the medic persona instantly, taking off her gloves and eyeing Asuna as if to ask her for more details without actually asking. The older woman knew the look immediately.

"He turned up on the doorstep just before Naruto did, I managed to stop the bleeding but it will need healing. He was also holding himself strangely, there's probably a broken bone in there somewhere…"

Asuna trailed off and indicated to his left shoulder, there was the tiniest amount of blood showing through the bandages. Sakura sent her chakra to her hands, glowing green and placing them directly on the wound. The fact that Kakashi made no protest even in his sleep, as he had done in the past, disconcerted her. And this wound…

"He was careless."

Sakura could feel her temper flaring. What had possessed the so called genius to act so childishly? It was a credit to Asuna that she even managed to stem the bleeding… and then something niggled in the back of Sakura's mind even though she was concentrating.

"Aunty Asuna, you didn't use any blood bending did you?"

She'd specifically forbidden the practise now that she was fully aware of the toll it took on the user.

"I promise I didn't Sakura, that only works on my own body as you know. I just used the limited medical ninjutsu that I do know… and may have shared some chakra with him to help."

Sakura had only recently learnt of the Uzumaki ability to share chakra, she wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that either. But Asuna herself looked fine and dandy.

"What concerns me is that he wasn't even aware of me doing it, though I'm sure he will have his suspicions when he wakes up."

Sakura nodded, he'd certainly pushed himself further in recent years, but this was pure negligence. And he hadn't even sought help… That was when it struck her as odd that _he_ was on _her_ bed, and not in his own apartment _next door._ She was asking before she could help herself.

"What is he doing in here Aunty?"

Sakura caught Asuna shifting in her peripheral vision, she had rounded to the other side of the bed and Sakura could see her worried face.

And it all finally clicked together.

The way she was looking at Kakashi's unconscious form, the way that he had once looked over Asuna with the same expression. Whatever was going on between the two of them, _it was mutual._

The twelve year old girl inside of Sakura's head squealed with glee, _finally_ some kind of leverage over the ever elusive Team 7 captain. She could barely contain her excitement, even if she felt mildly pathetic for it, it wasn't as if she was vicariously living through her sensei or anything. But any kind of knowledge over the sadist would surely come in handy, and she would also like to sorely pay him back for some of the more ridiculous things he'd put her team through.

"Naruto helped me move him in here. For some reason he was fighting me every step of the way, not that he's never done that before, but I figured in here was better than on the couch."

Even as Asuna spoke Naruto's laughter could be heard, and some mild yelling from Iruka.

 _That explains that look with Naruto then._

Sakura also heard the audible sigh that came from Asuna.

"He certainly has terrible timing… as always."

The avatar spoke quietly, almost as if she hadn't intended to say it out loud at all. Sakura stifled a small laugh.

"I guess he could have had worse timing… but don't tell him that or he'll take it as a challenge for next time."

Asuna's concerned face contorted to forced amusement for a second, letting out a huff before half-heartedly agreeing with the medic. Though Sakura had tried to lighten the atmosphere there was still something that Asuna was not telling her, there was a way her lips kept moving as if to say something but no words followed.

Sakura could at least afford patience with the woman, she'd certainly been through enough as it was. So she instead turned her focus back to her sensei, concentrating on the myriad of minor injuries that riddled him.

Eventually, after a few minutes of silence, Asuna spoke quietly.

"He was acting… stranger than usual…"

At this Sakura's head snapped up.

"Strange? Like genjutsu strange?"

Asuna was quiet for a moment.

"Perhaps. I'm not sure."

"I'll check while I'm at it, it would certainly explain a couple of things. Don't you worry Aunty Asuna, I'll have him good as new in just a little while. He'll need to rest a bit though to recover his chakra."

Sakura attempted the kind of smile that would put her at ease, ironically the same kind of smile that Kakashi sensei used on her for the same purpose occasionally.

It didn't always work either.

Asuna's lip quirked into a resigned side smile.

"Well if he's resting here at least I can keep an eye on the idiot. Thanks Sakura. I wasn't exactly sure if he wanted everyone to know that he crashed the party… speaking of which…"

There was an ominous crashing noise which made both woman cringe.

"You should really get back to it, I'll be out in a minute, almost done."

Asuna nodded, cast one last longing look at the shinobi in her bed, and made for the door. Sakura worked quickly and quietly, narrowing her eyes as she regarded her sensei in a different light perhaps. Asuna was right, he was certainly acting strange, but in Sakura's experience that was just how he always operated. It wasn't as if the avatar had elaborated either, which left her to wonder at exactly what was going on.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Asuna seldom used the word 'perfect' when referring to anything, especially in her own life, but she was certain that this dinner had gone off without a hitch. Relatively speaking.

The appropriate amount of compliments had been offered on the food at least. The conversation during dinner also flowed a little easier than she anticipated, but Asuna guessed that was down to the group of excellent shinobi gathered, the bonds of friendship and all that. Naruto, the instigator, was also armed with question after question, although Asuna didn't mind answering them at all.

Even before the food had been served the questions had started.

"So Iruka sensei, how do you know Aunty?"

Asuna had been about to serve the first course, Sakura appearing by her side to help out of nowhere. Catching Iruka's eye she smiled and decided to allow him to answer this one for her.

"Well, your Aunt took care of a lot of us at the orphanage, I don't know how she managed it but she certainly kept me on the right track."

"Marginally, you put up a good fight…"

She'd said it under her breath but Naruto caught it and laughed auspiciously, even Sakura had a quiet giggle to herself. Iruka might have blushed a little before he rapidly tried to divert attention from himself.

"Seriously though, when she wasn't on a mission your Aunt was always there to spend time with us. I don't know of any one else who did more for that orphanage…"

The rest of the night almost followed exactly how Asuna had imagined it would. With various questions being asked of her at certain points, but it became more of a catch up for her, as she learnt things about this strange team dynamic that her nephew was apart of. It seemed Iruka was catching up as well. All in all, it was an entirely comfortable evening. More so than Asuna had anticipated, social occasions had never been her forte in the past, perhaps her nephew was rubbing off on her.

But there was another reason as happened during the main course.

Silently, the copy ninja had appeared and slid himself onto his usual spot on the couch. Asuna watched him curiously though it appeared as if he wasn't even conscious. So, dinner continued, no one else noticing the new addition to the room. Pitiful really for a group of ninja, but this was Kakashi after all, and this was a pretty relaxing meal. His presence caused a reaction that she wasn't able to control, in fact she wasn't even aware of it until her face started a dull ache around her jaw.

She was smiling, a lot.

By the end of the main, Asuna extracted herself without notice, gathering plates as she went. But before her return to the table she tucked the blanket back around the copy ninja's sleeping form.

Yamato, who had been seated next to her, was the first to notice as she did it. Saying nothing until she reached the table to take his dishes.

"He's been back a while I take it?" It was said in a quiet voice that only Asuna could hear, she nodded yes and he sighed. "Looks like he's taking a beating…"

At these words Sai seemed to follow the conversation and regarded the still figure on the couch with curiosity. It was Asuna's turn to sigh.

"Maybe a little, it's his pride that's taken the brunt of it I'd imagine."

Yamato disguised a laugh poorly with a cough and Sai just let out that little tinkling laugh that would forever sound forced even if it wasn't.

Dessert was finished by the time the others actually noticed the party had been crashed by none other than Kakashi Hatake. Sakura, helping her with the clean up, simply raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes in his direction, Asuna stifled her own amusement at this. It was _exactly_ how Kashi would have reacted in the past.

Naruto reacted with over the top fake surprise which was comical itself.

Yamato was the first to leave, not before carefully examining the piano in the corner of the room. Sai was next, making some remark on the time, though Asuna hadn't looked at the clock in a while she was surprised that it was closing in on ten. Iruka began making excuses about an early start, though she suspected it had more to do with the amount of dishes that needed to be done.

As Iruka sat by the door adjusting his sandals, Naruto perched himself thoughtfully at the counter, aimlessly drying the same dish repeatedly. As Sakura actually made herself useful putting away excess food, and making the odd scolding remark to Naruto.

Asuna barely noticed anything going on around her. She wasn't exactly used to so much social interaction in any case, but she caught herself humming quietly and smiling in her nephews direction. A warm feeling took hold, she vaguely recognized it as happiness, having all her precious people in one place.

They had spoken about a lot of things that night, about her journey and past, and stories about Naruto's own adventures. He hadn't asked too many probing questions, but it appeared that he was only biding his time until this moment. As soon as he asked it Asuna felt the air leave her lungs.

"Aunty… Can I ask you something?"

This wasn't so unsettling, until he continued. Asuna smiled with a nod.

"How long have you and Kakashi sensei been in love with each other?"

She immediately paused in what she was doing, eyes wide, they darted to the copy ninja himself but he was still sound asleep. Asuna didn't need a chakra map to tell her that.

Iruka coughed nervously.

"And that's my cue to leave…"

He sidled out the door and for a fleeting moment Asuna wished she could have gone with him. Sakura took the minutes pause to hone in on Naruto, casually twisting her closed fist into his skull.

"You can't just ask her that outright you idiot!"

"Why not?"

"Because! You just can't! You know nothing about women at all! I'm so sorry Aunty Asuna you don't have to…"

A promise that she'd made on her arrival stuck out in her mind.

"It's alright, I did promise I'd answer all your questions after all…"

Sakura immediately took the seat next to Naruto and stared wide eyed as if she were watching some kind of play unfold before her. Asuna would have laughed but she was too busy trying to find the words for a suitable reply that would sate her nephew without revealing too much guarded information. She wanted to say it to Kakashi first in any case…

A thought escaped her lips before she had time to check it.

"Is it that obvious?"

Naruto grinned, while Sakura's mouth fell open. This time Asuna did smile a little at the girl's reaction.

"Well yeah, if I can see it it's gotta be obvious! Right, Sakura?"

The girl apparently was still too stunned to say anything, she turned her stare to Naruto with a flicker of anger.

"Come on you had to see it too. Aunty's smile changes when he's here, _see just like that!"_ he gestured to Asuna who tried to hide a growing blush, "And you must have noticed that Kaka-sensei doesn't read those boring books now that she's back…"

It was as if a light bulb had switched on in Sakura's head and she was now able to process the situation.

"His bookmark…"

She mumbled and Naruto simply nodded. Asuna admittedly did not understand this part of the conversation.

"So Aunty, how long? You guys grew up together didn't you?"

Asuna shook her head a little, she had an inkling that Naruto was asking this for his own purposes, but she kept that thought to herself.

"We did… but…"

The words were still not quite coming to her, unsure on exactly what she should be saying anyway.

"You don't remember?"

Asuna shook her head no, Sakura looked a little disheartened.

"It's not that… but, it just came on so gradually that I'm not sure I can tell you specifically when…"

Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"I'm not explaining this very well am I…"

At this both Naruto and Sakura began quietly chuckling to themselves.

"Well, I guess, I can only tell you what I told him. I don't know exactly how he feels as it were…" They glanced to each other, the smiles had drifted from their faces "...but for me, it's been…. As long as I can remember."

At those words she smiled herself. It might not have been what Naruto had wanted to hear, but they were the only words she could find, and they were honest. The genuine smile on his face negated any niggling worries of disappointment that her answer had not satisfied.

"Aunty, no offense, but if that's how you told Kaka-sensei he probably is still in the dark on it."

Asuna turned and rolled her eyes, though the grin on her face betrayed her feelings, Sakura laughed as well.

"And what exactly am I supposedly in the dark on, hmm?"

That dulcet voice of Kakashi's sure knew how to cause the hairs on her neck to stand on end. Naruto made a squeaking sound of shock mixed with fear while Sakura continued to laugh nervously.

"Why, nothing of course, Kakashi sensei. No one could ever get anything by you…" Sakura's words fell short of being anything but sarcastic.

Asuna turned slowly to eye the damage as it were, wondering just how much the copy ninja had heard of their talking. She sincerely hoped he wouldn't be too cross over it at least. He walked slowly up to the counter, standing next to Naruto who was now frozen in fear to the bar stool. It dissipated when he caught sight of the ninja.

"Wow, sensei, you look like shit."

"Thanks, Naruto. Nice to see you too."

Those were the words that finally forced Naruto into moving, the rising aura of doom, making him almost jump off the stool.

"Right, better be going, ha. It's getting late. Sakura, you want me to walk you?"

"I don't need you to walk with me. Do you want a big strong ninja to take you home though, Naruto, hmm?"

"Oh shut it, y'know I was just trying to be…. G'night Aunty! Thanks for dinner! It was a blast."

"Yes, thank you Aunty!" Sakura choroused as the pair left quickly. The way they both giggled in between yelling at each other did nothing for Asuna's confidence but it was too late to take it back now.

Standing there alone in the apartment, Kakashi was bearing into her eyes with a look that could only have been made darker by opening his sharingan eye. It held no contempt, only heat and unspoken things.

"You hungry?" Her voice finally made an appearance.

"No, not right now. Do you want a hand with…" He gestured to the dishes behind her, but she interrupted him.

"It's fine, there isn't too much left to do…"

Her words were ignored, he had already bridged the gap and stood beside her in the kitchen ready to help. Asuna stopped talking at his proximity. After a few seconds he spoke.

"But it's my turn."

She felt her brows raise a little higher, a thousand different memories suddenly reappearing from some long forgotten corner of her brain. It was such a mass recall it made her eyes water just a little. And she was unsure how much time had passed without her responding.

By the time she finally shook herself out of it, Kakashi was standing right in front of her, hands on either side of her shoulders. Concern written all over his face.

"Where did you go?" He said quietly.

"No where, I'm okay, I swear… it's just." She wondered how to word it, how to make it sound like she wasn't insane, but at the same time she could never lie, especially to Kakashi. "Well, there are a lot of things I kept hidden away for so long… it's just a but overwhelming to have them suddenly free."

"That is something I know all too well…" Kakashi said quietly, the heat of his hands suddenly turning to lava. "I'll let you rest now. I just, I needed to see you."

Asuna smiled.

"You're the one who needs to be resting now, Kashi…"

His interruption came in the form of another kiss. Mask still on, an experience she found both weird and comforting, heatedly pressing his lips to hers. Muffling her words. Just as she got her wits about her again and leant into it, Kakashi withdrew and stood back a little.

"I don't… I don't want to overwhelm you. So I better go… Good night Asuna…"

He walked backwards towards the door, watching her still. Now she understood that look from before, everything, what it had meant.

"Kakashi, wait…" This time she was the one who caught him off guard, stepping into him quickly, tugging that damned mask down his chin. Capturing his lips with her own in a way that was all fire and passion. She put everything into it. The soft grunt he made as he reciprocated sent a fire to her loins, she hoped desperately that he wasn't making that noise out of injury.

They broke for air. Kakashi rested his forehead against hers.

"Asuna, I know I said I didn't want to overwhelm you… but…"

He stammered and faltered in his sentence.

And for the first time in a long, long while. Asuna knew exactly what she needed to say for him.

"Stay." She whispered, making sure her eyes were locked with his, hoping he understood what she was asking. "We've already lost too much time."

He nodded imperceptibly, Asuna embraced him, gripping his warmth like he was the only thing tethering her to this earth. She didn't even know if she was touching any of his injuries, all she knew was that she could not let go. Not now, not ever.

Standing there in Kakashi's arms, the tiredness and madness of the day finally caught up with her, and she fell asleep where she stood. Safe.


End file.
